New York Dreamer
by Cambie
Summary: When Blaine is offered the chance of a lifetime in New York, he jumps at the opportunity. But what happens when he realizes that maybe his dream isn't all what it was cracked up to be? And maybe he had been chasing the wrong dream the whole time? BlainexQuinn AU
1. Coffee Stains and Flat Tires

Blaine was late.

And not the occasional "Oh, I got caught in traffic" excuse. But the "my whole morning was a disaster and I just want to go back to sleep and start this day all over again" late.

To start off, his alarm on his phone hadn't gone off, cruelly letting him sleep in way too late. And while he was scrambling to organize all his boxes in his practically empty apartment, he couldn't find his hair gel, forcing him to go all natural and curly for the day. Then when he finally got out of the house, he had stubbed his toe in his car door while being focused on the mountain of boxes skyscraping over his small frame, cutting off all his vision.

When he finally finished shoving all the his boxes in his small, beat up but faithful Volkswagen, he knew he needed his coffee or this 9 hour long drive would end in a car crash. After he had gotten his medium drip from his favorite local place, The Lima Bean, he had ended up tripping and spilling it all over his shirt. With a few curse words being whispered under his breath, he continued driving.

Blaine reached his destination, his travel mate and soon to be roommate Rory's house, forty seven minutes late.

"What the hell man?" Rory asked him after jumping into the passenger seat. "You look like crap. Rough morning?"

"You have no idea," Blaine groaned and gratefully accepted the coffee Rory had obviously made while waiting for his tardy friend. "I think this is a sign that this move is probably not a good idea."

"Are you kidding right now?" Rory gaped back at his obviously insane friend. "I'm pretty sure you were the one that had wanted to go to New York since we were 8 years old. And I'm pretty sure you're the one that begged ME to go with you on this- what did you call it again? Oh yeah, 'C'mon Rory! It's the chance of a lifetime!' And I'm-"

"Okay, okay," Blaine interrupted, rolling his eyes while getting onto the highway. "But don't act like you're not a little scared. I mean, we've lived in Ohio our whole lives! We haven't even seen the ocean!"

"Then isn't it time we did? Blaine, you've wanted to go to New York since we got out of high school _2 years ago. _You've wanted this job forever," Rory replied.

It was true. Ever since he was little, Blaine knew he wanted to be a singer. When he was 5, he wrote his first song. Sure, it might have only had one verse and was about Disneyland, but it was a start. Ever since then, he had over a dozen journals tucked away under his bed, full of small tidbit poems or full songs. He knew this was what he wanted to do, and set his mind to head off to New York the second he received his diploma.

However, it wasn't that easy. He ended up staying in the sleepy town of Lima, Ohio when he received the heart breaking news that his application to Julliard had not been accepted. He tucked away all his dreams and took classes at the local junior college and working as a waiter at Breadstix, and whenever he could, begging for different gigs to keep his talent alive.

After almost 2 years of doing that same thing, he was cleaning up from his Thursday night gig at The Lima Bean when a middle aged man wearing a business like expression to go with his suit walked up to him, completing him on his talent and telling him to get the hell out of Lima, because he could make it big if he really tried. Then the man tossed a confused Blaine his card. Turns out he was a big time producer, and he wanted the next big thing; he wanted Blaine. In New York.

Three months later, Blaine's bags were packed, his goodbye's said, and his little blue Volkswagen was on its way to New York, along with Blaine and his childhood best friend Rory, who still had no idea what he wanted to do, and accompanied his mate so he wouldn't get too lonely in the big city.

"I know, I know. But I think I was just in love with the idea of this happening. And now that it really is...I don't know...I'm just being paranoid," Blaine shrugged.

"Don't worry, bro. You totally got this," Rory said, squeezing his shoulder with a smile.

"Thanks, bro," Blaine said, reciprocating the grin. "You're the best."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't forget to mention me in your Grammy speech."

X~X~X

Four hours into their journey, Blaine and Rory heard a noise that they defiantly did not want to hear.

They heard a tire pop.

The two boys looked nervously over at each other before Blaine pulled the car over. Blaine's GPS had told him to get go on some strange road, and now they had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania.

Blaine opened his door first, using his hand as a visor, and looked as far as his tired eyes would allow seeing that no cars were coming down the road. Meanwhile, Rory had unfortunately found out of the lack of cell phone service.

"Great. Just peachy!" Blaine screamed to no one in particular, running his hands through his dark curls out of frustration.

"Um, well let's think of all the good things we have in this situation," Rory, always the optimist, started to list off all the positive things: like it wasn't raining, and they still had a good hour or two until it was dark.

"What are we going to do?" Blaine said mostly to himself, ignoring his friend's rant.

As if an answer to his unsaid prayer, Blaine heard a faint motor in the distance. He scrambled out of the car, tripping over his own feet as lights came over the hill. Both of the young men began waving their hands frantically.

But the car, an old pickup, kept driving.

Blaine was about to run after the beat up vehicle when he saw it abruptly stop just a few meters ahead. He cocked his head to see the small figure of a woman coming out of the passenger side, walking up to the stranded pair.

"Flat tire," the girl asked, no, stated, as she walked closer up to Blaine. In the dimming light he could only see her silhouette. As she walked closer, he could see more of the mysterious person's face. She had light blonde hair that was pulled up into loose ponytail, with little curls hanging loosely on the side of her face. She was wearing paint splatted jeans that had definitely seen better days, and a faded t-shirt that Blaine could make out as _McKinley High Cheerios._ But what really captivated the young musician were the girl's eyes. They were large, almost almond shaped, and were the most interesting shade of green Blaine had ever seen. They were dark green, with hints of brown and gold.

He hadn't noticed how long he had been obviously staring at the girl until she cleared her throat loudly and looked over at him.

"What? Uh, yeah," Blaine chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, your friend over here kind of told me the whole story while you were busy ogling me," she replied, almost teasingly, with a hint of laughter in her amazing orbs. "And by the way, nice coffee stain," she snickered and winked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Blaine screamed at himself for making yet another stupid comment and looking stupidly down at his stained shirt.

By this time, the driver of the pick-up had come out and began making their way towards the group.

"Quinn?" the voice spoke out, taking large strides towards the broken down car.

"Over here, Noah," she gestured. "This is Rory, and.." she trailed off waiting for Blaine to obviously say his name.

"O-oh. Blaine. My name's Blaine," he stuttered.

"Blaine," Quinn said, nodding at the flustered boy. "They're from Ohio, and looks like they got themselves into a little problem."

"Flat tire," The man Quinn had addressed to be Noah stated. He sighed before turning around and going back to the old pickup. "I'll go get the spare."

"So what are a couple of Ohioans doing in the middle of Pennsylvania?" Quinn asked to break the awkward silence.

"Blaine here got signed with some big-shot producer to be his new singer. We're actually headed to New York," Rory explained.

"I don't have the job yet," Blaine said throwing daggers with his eyes at the Irish man. "But yeah, I get to work with in the studio for a couple weeks," he finished, turning his attention back towards the pretty blonde.

"Huh. We're on our way to the Big Apple, too. It's a small world, huh?" Quinn said, looking back at the pair while Noah joined them carrying a large tire.

"Do you know how to change it?" he asked gruffly, and Blaine, who thought he was an excellent judge of character, knew he probably wasn't the friendly type. So how did he and Quinn get along? She seemed a lot more amicable and sarcastic, while he seemed more reserved and ignorant. Were they dating? Was it bad that Blaine was disappointed at even the idea, when he'd know the two for less than ten minutes?

"Yeah," he answered, grabbing the tire. "Thanks a lot for your help. What are you going to New York for?" Blaine asked politely while taking the tools Noah offered to him and heading to the flattened wheel.

"Fresh start," Quinn simply stated. Blaine had hoped for her to continue, but he didn't want to pry and left it at that, responding with a simple nod.

The group made small talk, mostly about the weather and how their drives were going while Blaine and Rory (with some help from Noah) finished up fixing the tire. Within an hour, the trio had completed the task. Blaine wiped his hands on his ratted jeans and stood up.

"Thanks again you guys. You literally saved our lives," Blaine chuckled awkwardly.

"No problem. And who knows, maybe we'll see you in the Big Apple," Quinn said, waving goodbye while walking away with Noah. When they started the car, she gave the pair one final wave as the engine roared into the distance.

"Blaine? Blaine?! Let's go!" Rory yelled at him while the curly haired man kept looking at the dusty bumper.

"O-oh yeah. Sorry, just tired is all," Blaine stuttered while hopping into the car and starting the engine.

Blaine sure hoped he would see her again in New York.

**Did you happen to catch the Aladdin reference in there? **;)


	2. Shoebox Apartments and Apple Pie

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Glee. Even though I'm pretty sure I'm more obsessed with it than the writers themselves.**

X~X~X

Two days later, Blaine and Rory had made it to New York. They spent the first day there trying to find their rented apartment in Manhattan. On such short notice, they had managed to find a pretty good deal on what looked like a decently sized apartment. However, once they reached their destination, they were highly disappointed.

Blaine had opened the door very excitedly to their two bedroom apartment to realize it was the size of a shoebox. Well, not literally, but it was much, _much _smaller than Blaine's tiny one bedroom apartment back in Ohio. The front room was about the size of Blaine's bedroom, containing a small kitchen with a fridge, oven, and two countertops and a small living area with the leather couches and 24 inch television Blaine had sent up here a week in advance. The bedrooms were extremely tiny, with little breathing room once the bed and dresser had been placed in. The bathroom was the size of a closet, with only a small toilet, sink, and cramped shower.

But it was expected. And a pretty nice deal for New York City, after all.

The two men had finished taking the cardboard boxes out of the trunk and into the shoebox home in record time, and had been unpacking and organizing for the last 3 hours. By that time, both of the dark haired friends had sweat on their brow and felt like their backs were going to break at any given moment. As if a response to an unspoken plea, they heard the slightly ajar front door creak open with two small knocks. Curious, Blaine put down the jumble of cords he had been trying to untangle for over ten minutes and cocked his hair to look over at the unexpected visitor.

A pretty, curvy, black girl looking to be Blaine's age, poked her head in the cramped space and smiled warmly yet shyly at Blaine. "Hi!" she exclaimed. She continued after Blaine's confused expression didn't change. "I heard there were new neighbors coming in today, and we came by to drop off a little house warming gift!" she said, holding out a delicious looking apple pie.

"We?" Blaine asked.

"Oh, my fiancé, Sam," she explained, while another tall figure came in sight. He was blonde and fit, and plastered on his face were the biggest pair of lips Blaine had ever seen.

"And your name.." Blaine trailed off.

"Oh! How rude of me! I'm Mercedes," she smiled brightly.

Blaine, now realizing his awkward position on the floor, stood up quickly and welcomed the good looking couple inside.

"Sorry it's such a mess, we just arrived yesterday and are still trying to unpack," he explained, taking the pie and placing it on a small countertop space that was empty. "Blaine," he said, shaking both of the neighbors' hands. "And thanks so much for the pie, it smells as good as it looks!"

"My pleasure! And may I ask who else you're rooming with?" Mercedes asked.

"Oh my best friend Rory," Blaine answered. At the mention of his name, the Irishman appeared from one of the bedrooms. "Who's this?" he inquired.

"Rory, I would like you to meet Mercedes and Sam. They're our neighbors, and even brought us a pie to make us feel more welcome," Blaine said all the introductions while the strangers shook hands.

The friendly couple had volunteered to help organize the rest of the Ohioans' things, and Blaine and Rory graciously accepted the help. For the rest of the night, they four had become well acquainted and were becoming fast friends. Rory ordered pizza from a hole in the wall restaurant down the block and they all enjoyed each other's company while they ate. Mercedes had moved to the city fresh out of high school from North Carolina, and Sam had grown up in the Big Apple. They had met at NYU, where they were both currently enrolled. They had moved in together three months after Sam had popped the question, and were scraping by just like their new friends in order to afford Mercedes' diva demands for their upcoming wedding. Blaine felt reassured knowing he and Rory were definitely not alone out here anymore.

His day had definitely been brightened, now knowing he had 3 new friends in the big city.

X~X~X

Sooner then Blaine realized, it had been a week since arriving in their new hometown. He was finally starting to get used to the hustle and bustle of the big city, and finally was able to maneuver his way through the cramped apartment without stubbing a toe or hitting objects to the floor. Him and Sam had become fast friends, and had hung out twice since meeting each other the week before. Blaine had his first meeting with the producer in tree days, and he couldn't feel more excited or relaxed.

Sam had dropped by later that evening tagging along Mercedes. They chatted about their days and Mercedes had invited Rory and himself to a small get together the engaged couple was having and the two men, both surprised and honored at the invitation, accepted immediately.

But he still had Quinn on his mind. Even since their strange encounter, she had filled his thoughts almost constantly. And knowing that she was somewhere in New York- she might even be in the same building!- made him more frustrated. The city was so huge he doubted he could ever find her. And the Noah character was probably her boyfriend anyway. Even if they did end up meeting up again, he'd doubt she felt the way he did.

Yes, he thought he was going crazy. Hell, he didn't know he last name and he already had such strong feelings for the mysterious blonde. Sometimes he would go on walks in the mornings to remote parts of New York to see if he could catch a glimpse of a blonde haired, green eyed beauty. But he had no such luck.

X~X~X

It was Saturday, and Blaine was getting ready for the party. He had on a pair of slacks and a while polo. "RORY!" he yelled from his bedroom.

"What?!" Rory asked, annoyed, as he was trying to get himself ready as well.

"Where's my green bowtie? The one with the zig-zag pattern on it?" Blaine asked while ruffling through his crowded drawers.

"Second star to the right and straight on until morning!" Rory yelled back.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "This is no time for messing around Rory! It's my favorite bowtie and I really want to wear it! Please give me an honest answer!"

"Uh...I think behind the T.V.," Rory yelled back with doubt in his Irish accent.

_How did it get there? _Blaine thought, but true to his word, Rory had been right. There lied his favorite bowtie in the corner behind the television. "Thanks, bud," Blaine said while passing Rory in the bathroom trying to fix his obviously stubborn hair.

"Where's your hair gel?" Rory asked. "I kinda need to borr-"

"No hair gel for you! This is expensive, and you know I can't live without it! Get your own," Blaine said, jumping at the bottle in the sink cupboard and running to his room.

"No fair! What am I supposed to do about MY hair Blaine?!" Rory yelled from behind the door, obviously frustrated.

"You look fine!" Blaine said, smiling broadly and opening the door to a grumpy looking Rory.

"Blaine. One cannot be that obsessed with hair gel and still be considered sane. I'm officially taking you to therapy. Or getting you a girlfriend."

_If the girlfriend happened to be blonde and named Quinn, then by all means go right ahead, _Blaine thought to himself.

"Fine by me. As long as my hair can be gelled when I go to my appointments," Blaine grinned as he walked out the door of their apartment. "Are you coming, or am I going to have to go to this party dateless?" He asked Rory.

"We _really _need to get girlfriends," Rory mumbled before following Blaine the short walk to Mercedes and Sam's apartment.

X~X~X

**Catch the Peter Pan reference? **


	3. Karaoke and Cousins

** Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Glee. Even though I'm pretty sure I'm more obsessed with it than the writers themselves.**

X~X~X

The party was in full swing by the time Blaine and Rory arrived. To both the men's surprise, a 'small get together' for a New Yorker was an understatement. The engaged couple's already small apartment seemed to be bursting with energy, booze, and music. Combined with the teeming amount of people and either boy could barely hear himself think.

The two friends stuck close to one another and fought their way through the crowds, hoping to find a familiar face out of the myriad of people there. They decide to split up, Blaine to find Mercy and Rory to search for Sam. Finally, Blaine spotted the short brunette laughing with a taller boy and a man in a wheelchair. He squeezed his way over to the small corner where they had gathered.

"Guess who?" Blaine said, running up behind the dark skinned girl and covering her eyes with his hands.

"Blaine!" she exclaimed, turning around and engulfing him in a hug. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Quite a party you got here!" Blaine responded with a smile.

"You know it!" Mercy answered. "Oh, I didn't even introduce you!" she said, finally noticing the other two people next to her. "Blaine, I'd like you to meet Finn Hudson and Artie Abrams," she introduced while the men shook hands. "They live in the apartment above us. I can't believe I haven't thought of introducing you guys before! Artie does independent movies and Finn stars in most of them," Mercedes explained, while Artie and Finn went into more depth on their careers.

Mercedes excused herself to go socialize with other guests, and Blaine got to know the two a little better. Artie was highly intelligent and funny, with black rimmed glasses and his brown hair was styled in an almost bowl cut sort of fashion. Finn seemed a bit more, well, out there, but still extremely kind and almost innocent with a dazed look on his face and a lanky body to match.

Blaine was so engrossed in his conversation that he didn't even noticed the living area being cleared out and a makeshift stage formed. Mercedes walked hand in hand up with Sam and blared into the microphone; "IT'S KARAOKE TIME!"

_Best. Party. Ever., _Blaine thought and smiled, knowing that he would _definitely_ be doing a number.

X~X~X

Two hours later, Blaine had a couple of beers flowing through him and was feeling buzzed. He still hadn't been able to make his way on the crowded stage yet, as he soon came to realize that _a lot _of Sam and Mercedes' friends liked to sing and surprisingly, a majority of them could. Blaine had made a few more acquaintances and he was itching to get on the stage to do what he did best. He had found Rory a few moments after the karaoke had begun with a girl named Sugar, who was just a quirky as her name. She was cute, but a little overbearing.

Finally, the stage was empty long enough for him to jump on it and claim his three minutes of fame. He meticulously chose a song he knew would be a crowd pleaser. Once he had found the track, he loosened his bowtie just a bit, grinned charismatically at his awaiting audience, and spoke into the microphone. "Hey everyone! Before I begin, can we just get a massive round of applause for the lovely couple we're here celebrating tonight?!" he exclaimed, motioning the crowd to do a huge round of cheers. After everyone quieted down, Blaine continued. "My name is Blaine Anderson, and I'd like to sing for you one of my favorite party songs. So enjoy, and, if you feel the need to, dance along."

And with that, the music started.

** Been working so hard** **I'm punching my card** **Eight hours for what** **Oh, tell me what I got**

By this time, a small group of people began making their way to the center of the room and began dancing and singing along to the beloved track, including Rory, Sugar, Mercedes, Sam, Artie, and Finn. **I've got this feeling** **That times are holding me down** **I'll hit the ceiling** **Or else I'll tear up this town**

The crowd grew to a larger amount and Blaine was dancing along on stage, savoring the feeling of just letting loose and having fun. As he broke into the chorus, he looked out in the sea of people again.

**Now I gotta cut loose, footloose** **Kick off the Sunday shoes** **Please, Louise, pull me off of my knees** **Jack, get Mack, come on before we crack** **Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose**

Suddenly, while he was singing the end of the first chorus, Blaine had to look twice. He could've sworn he saw a black Mohawk dancing alongside his friends. was that...Noah? It couldn't be...could it?  
**You're playing so cool** **Obeying every rule** **Deep way down in your heart** **You're burning yearning for** **Somebody to tell you** **That life ain't passing you by** **I'm trying to tell you** **It will if you don't even try** **You'll get by if you'd only**

Blaine continued, of course, but his mind was elsewhere. He knew without a doubt that was Noah line dancing with the throng of party goers. But if Noah was there..could Quinn be here to? His heart raced at the thought.

**Footloose, footloose** **Kick off the Sunday shoes** **Oo-wee Marie, shake it, shake it for me** **Woah, Milo, come on, come on let's go** **Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose**

He was completely distracted now and was lucky that the crowd was so into their own shenanigans and singing along rather than noticed the musician. He searched frantically for a blonde headed girl with the unforgettable green eyes, and knew this was his only chance. The stage was the slightly raised above the floor, giving the best view of the whole flock of people. He would never be able to find her after his song was over.

**Yeah, ooooh-oh-oh** **(Cut footloose)** **Yeah, ooooh-oh-oh** **(Cut footloose)** **Yeah, ooooh-oh-oh** **(Cut footloose)** **Oooooooooh**

Finally, he spotted her. From what he could tell, her blonde hair was loose around her shoulders. She was smiling and laughing with Noah and some other people Blaine didn't know and dancing along to the catchy tune. She was sporting a light blue summer dress the floated up when she spun around. Blaine's smile and charisma returned to his face as he finished the song with even more energy then the start. He had finally found her. He couldn't believe his good luck.

**You've got to turn me around** **And put your feet on the ground** **Gotta take the hold of all** **I'm turning it loose**

** Footloose, kick off the Sunday shoes** **Please, Louise, pull me off of my knees** **Jack, get Mack, come on before we crack** **Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose** **(Footloose) footloose** **Kick off the Sunday shoes** **Please, Louise, pull me off of my knees** **Jack, get Mack, come on before we crack** **Lose your blues, everybody cut, everybody cut** **Everybody cut, everybody cut** **Everybody cut, everybody cut** **(Everybody) everybody cut footloose **

He had fun with the last part, taking the mic of it's stand and sliding on his knees to the end of the stage, close to where Quinn was dancing. For a moment, their eyes locked, and Blaine winked, knowing by her surprised expression that she did indeed remember him.

X~X~X

Blaine made his way off the stage and into the small hallway to get himself a drink from the cooler. He sipped the cool drink, letting the liquid crawl down his throat soothingly. However, he almost choked when he heard the familiar voice speaking to him in the much less crowded corridor.

"Wow. Who knew Ohio had such a great voice?"

She looked even prettier than he remembered. "You know what they judge a book by its cover," he grinned widely, showing all teeth. She smiled back at him, and they both stood there for a few moments, lost in the awe of the moment.

Blaine shook his head and spoke first. "I...uh...What are you doing here?"

Quinn laughed his bluntness. "I could ask you the same question," she retorted, with the same gleam in her eye the first time she teased him, back on that empty road in Pennsylvania.

"I live in this building and Mercedes and Sam were our first neighbors that actually spoke kindly to us. We hung out a few more times and they invited to their little shindig," he explained.

"Sam's my cousin," Quinn said, and Blaine choked on his water.

"What?!" He exclaimed after getting his breathing back to normal.

"Yeah. I never really got to see him since he lived in New York and I in California but when we did see each other, it was always a good time. So when he heard that I was moving to New York, he invited me to this little celebration to get to know some people. And I could never pass up a good party so of course, I accepted," Quinn clarified.

"Wait...you're from California? Sorry if I'm overstepping, but you seem much more of a country girl," Blaine inquired.

"You are right. I grew up by San Diego, and my parents owned a ranch. I guess growing up with cattle and horses does that to you," She answered.

"Ah," Blaine responded and fondled his water a little awkwardly while Quinn stared at the floor. _C'mon Blaine, say something!_ he thought frantically to himself. "So, uh, did you like my performance?"

Quinn laughed her amazing laugh before answering. "I did! You sure know what you're doing up there. You have a real gift, Ohio."

Blaine almost blushed at her comment. "Why thank you. And Ohio?"

"That's your nickname. It was either that or Mr. Bowtie," she giggled in response.

Blaine smirked. "You're right. Ohio is _much _better."

X~X~X

The song was "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins.

Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Queen Bees and Swoon-Worthy Boys

**Disclaimer: I don't own glee. Even though I'm pretty sure I'm more obsessed with it than the writers themselves. **

Blaine went home that night content. A little drunk off new friends and high off the catchy and fun music, but content. He stumbled into his cramped apartment with Rory by his side, laughing a little too loudly for their late arrival.

"Man, that was the best party ever!" Blaine exclaimed, trying to catch his breath and slipping off his dress shoes.

"Hell yes! That definitely needs to happen way more often!" Rory replied, collapsing onto the small couch.

"Alright dude, I'm gonna hit the hay. See you in the morning, if you're not too hung-over," Blaine commented, walking the short distance to the closet he called a bedroom.

"Best party eva!" Rory lifted his armed victoriously in the air before tiredly dropping it lazily back to the ground, snoring softly.

Blaine shook his head and closed his door, stripping off his clothes and climbing into his bed. He smiled widely at himself, replaying the night back in his head. Him and Quinn had ended up getting into a somewhat deep conversation out in the less crowded but equally as noisy hallway.

_"So did you live in the middle of nowhere or did you actually have a social life?" Blaine asked, laughing. The pair had become much more comfortable and were engaged in a friendly chat. Almost flirtatious, but Blaine didn't want to get his hopes up. _

_"Excuse me! Just because I lived in the country doesn't mean I was a hermit!" Quinn argued playfully, giving Blaine one of her bright, award-winning smiles Blaine was beginning to adore. "But yes, I had a social life. An extremely good one, might I add. I was head Cheerio on my school's cheerleading team. I led them to 3 consecutive national championships, thank you very much."_

_Blaine's jaw almost dropped. This girl kept surprising him every sentence that was spoken out of her mouth. "Wh-...Are you serious?" _

_"Darn right! I had practically the whole school wrapped around my finger," Quinn joked, and Blaine had no doubts in her boasting statement. He hadn't even known her a day and he was already under her thumb. _

_"So were you one of those total queen bees like in those cheesy teen movies?" Blaine asked. _

_"Oh yeah. Not only was a captain of the Cheerios, I was a lead soloist in my school's glee club, president of the celibacy club, and valedictorian in my graduating class." Quinn said smugly, but Blaine knew it was all good natured. Her personality was intriguing; Blaine had never met anyone like her. _

_"Oh my gosh! I was in my school's glee club too!" Blaine exclaimed. "Did you guys ever make it to Nationals?"_

_"Yup, we made it twice, but only won once. It was my senior year so it was well worth the wait."_

_"What years did you go?" Blaine knew the question was a little personal, but he was too excited to care. His glee club, The Dalton Academy Warblers, had made it to Nationals every year, but unfortunately never won. _

_"The first time was three years ago, the second was two years ago," Quinn replied. That meant she was 20, just like Blaine. _

_"I went the same time! I was in the Dalton Academy Warblers," Blaine said, hoping she would remember them .After all, it was hard to miss those unflattering blazers. _

_"Oh, the absolutely swoon-worthy a capella group of dapper teenage boys sporting matching and just as adorable blazers?" Quinn asked. "How could I forget?"_

_Blaine almost jumped for joy at her statement. Yes, many people told but him how amazing the Warblers were, and they were, hearing it from Quinn made it so much better. _

_"Yeah, we were kind of awesome," Blaine responded, getting a playful slap on the arm from the blonde. "But what team were you on?"_

_"The New Directions. We were a little unorganized and crazy, but we somehow managed to have fabulous stage presence," Quinn answered to a still confused Blaine. "We had the kid in the wheelchair," she hinted. _

_"Ah," Blaine said, now remembering the ragtag team. "You guys were pretty awesome, even if your choreography was a little off most of the time," he teased._

_"Um looks who's talking Mr. I-Made-It-To-Nationals-Every-Year-But-Never-Manage d-To-Win-A-Single-One," Quinn retorted. _

_"Touché," Blaine said, laughing along with the pretty girl. _

_They stood in comfortable silence while Blaine argued with himself to ask her out or at least managed to catch her phone number. But he still didn't know whether or not she was dating the Noah guy. _

_"So uh, do you-I mean would you, um, want to go...um.." Blaine had started off feeling brave but trailed off._

_"You're cute when you're nervous," Quinn said to break the awkward tension Blaine had just formed. He blushed harder while she continued. "But yes, I would like to see you again. Here's my number," she responded by taking a pen out of her purse and writing the digits of Blaine's sweaty arm. _

Blaine smiled at the memory and looked down at his arm, now tattooed with the girl's digits. He quickly wrote them down on his notebook by his bed and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

He had never slept so soundly.

X~X~X


	5. Hangovers and Text Messages

**Disclaimer: I don't own glee. Even though I'm pretty sure I'm more obsessed with it than the writers themselves. **

X~X~X

Blaine walked into the living room the next morning, the bright morning light coming through the window almost blinding. He smacked Rory- still passed out- on the head before strolling into the kitchenette.

"Good morning sunshine!" Blaine purposely shouted to annoy his hung-over friend. He got a grunt as a response. "Isn't it just a beautiful morning? Today is just a great day. It's just full of so much potential, don't you think?" Blaine continued on his merry way, grinning at the sight of his disheveled roommate.

"Un ate oo," the interpretable voice called from the couch.

"What was that pumpkin?" Blaine teased.

"I HATE YOU!" Rory yelled and grimaced when the light his face.

"That's unfortunate. Because I love you lots," was Blaine's reply. "In fact, I love you so much I left you some aspirin and a bottle of water on the side table."

At that, Rory jumped up and grabbed the much needed pills, swallowing them quickly. "Thanks bud."

"No problem honey bunches of oats," Blaine said, whistling.

"Ok, what happened last night? Because you seem way happier than the normal person," Rory said, his brain finally catching up to Blaine's odd behavior.

"Well if you didn't get so drunk you might have remembered."

"Tell me before I throw this pillow at you."

"Well your best friend might have scored a girl's number. A beautiful, intelligent, girl, might I add," Blaine explained, winking over the counter.

"Now I'm interested. What's her name?" Rory asked.

"Quinn," Blaine said, almost dreamily.

"Quinn who?"

Blaine was about to respond when he realized he didn't even know her last name. Before he had a chance to reply, Rory interrupted his thoughts.

"Wait. The same Quinn that helped us on that road in Pennsylvania?!" Rory put the pieces together.

"Maybe," Blaine said, blushing and sticking his face in the mini fridge.

"How in the world did you manage to find her, in _New York_ of all places? You have the best luck ever man," Rory stated, shaking his head and falling back onto the couch.

"She's Sam's cousin! Crazy, right?" Blaine explained.

"Whatever. Just when you two make it official, get me one of her friends."

X~X~X

Blaine sat that afternoon on his bed, bored out of his mind. He felt like Rapunzel in Tangled; he had cleaned the whole apartment, organized his bowtie collection, and even written a few verses. He decided to text Quinn, hoping she wouldn't think he was desperate.

Blaine: **Quinn? Um, hello. I hope I got the right number**

Quinn**: um, who is this?**

Blaine: **oh gosh, im sorry. It's Blaine. **

Quinn**: Ohio? Ah I should've known from the awkward yet dapper greeting. ;)**

**Blaine: once a dapper lad always a dapper lad…I can't even help it**

**Quinn: I'm sure… I haven't met many dapper lads but im sure none can compare to you!**

Blaine smiled at the reply before texting back.

Blaine: ** so my interview is tomorrow. Aka the "start of my fame", as Rory put it.**

He didn't know why he was telling the girl he barely knew all of this, but he couldn't stop his fingertips from typing it.

Quinn: **are you worried?**

Blaine**: a little. Scratch that. A lot. **

Quinn**: well from what I saw at the party last night, you really have nothing to be worried about. But promise me something?**

Blaine**: anything**

Quinn**: text me as soon as you're finished with the interview! I want to know the deats!**

Blaine**: will do. **

X~X~X

Awe. Nervousness. Excitement. Anxiousness.

All these emotions were going through Blaine Anderson the moment he opened those large shiny doors that led to his potential future job as a musician.

He walked up to the receptionist, a skinny woman with long fingernails busy typing ever so quickly on a sleek keyboard.

"Um, excuse me?" Blaine said, catching the woman's attention. "My name is Blaine Anderson; I have an appointment with uh, Robert Smith?"

The girl pursed her tight lips and scanned the computer. "He'll be with you soon." Her voice sounded like a true New Yorker, but more snobby and annoying.

He left to desk and sat down on one of the sleek chairs in the waiting room, setting his guitar down and running his sweaty palms on his slacks. He knew that the long sleeve shirt he'd chosen to wear was a mistake, he was sweating profusely already, and he hadn't even realized he had been called in.

"Blaine Anderson!" The shrill voice of the receptionist rung out through the lobby.

He got out quickly and followed her through confusing, white, corridors until they reached a door at the end of the hallway.

"Good luck," the receptionist said to Blaine. "You're going to need it," and with that she walked away.

Blaine exhaled and slowly opened to door that decided his future.

X~X~X


	6. Cheerleading Canons and Heartthrobs

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Even though I'm pretty sure I'm more obsessed with it than the writers themselves. **

X~X~X

Blaine trudged into the apartment, slipping his shoes off and throwing his guitar and bag across the room. Falling face first on the couch, he groaned, feeling royally pooped. The day had been extremely long, and he knew the meeting with the producer could have- and should have- gone better. He was planning on just hitting the hay right there on the leather sofa, but the vibrating from his pocket forced the young man to sit up.

Quinn: **so since you haven't texted me I take it the meeting with the big shot producer either went really really well or really really bad.**

Blaine's fingers fumbled and he texted back quickly. how could he have forgotten to text Quinn?

Blaine**: i don't think ur up for this sob story.**

Her response was almost instant, and the message following surprised Blaine as well.

Quinn**: Try me. **

X~X~X

An hour later Blaine was sitting at a small table near the back of a hole in the wall coffee place, drinking a medium drip and laughing.

With Quinn.

When he read her text, he scrambled out the door, almost tripping over his shoelaces while going down the stairs into the street. They had arranged to meet at a cafe a few blocks from Blaine's apartment complex, and upon arriving stood in line together and sat close at a small counter in the back.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Blaine said in between laughs. "Your cheerleading coach wanted to shoot your friend through a gigantic _canon? _Why would the poor girl even agree to that?"

"Let's just say Brittany wasnt the sharpest tool in thh shed," Quinn replied, giggling and showing off her dazzling smile.

Blaine shook his head in disbelief. "How did the coach even get permission to do that?" _Public schools were _much_ different from private schools_, he had concluded.

"She was a coniving, sneaky, wicked woman. I hated her from the first day I walked into the halls of that horrid high school to the moment I got my diploma." Quinn grimaced at the thought of her old teacher. "But as much as I hate to admit it, she knew how to win, and was a champion at doing so. She brought so much money -and more importantly, fame- to the school that the pirncipal pretty much let her do anything. But i have a hunch she was just blackmailing him the whole time," Quinn whispered the latter, scooting closer to the musician.

"You make my old stories with the Warblers seem lame! I can't believe someone would even think of doing that!" Blaine responded, still dumbfounded.

All of the sudden, Quinn gasped and grabbed the curly haired man's hand that was laying on the table. Blaine inwardly gulped at the contact and looked up at the pretty girl. "Oh my goodness! I'm being so rude! How was your meeting?" As soon as the sentence left her mouth, she moved her hand away from his as quickly as she had placed it in the beginging. Blaine already missed the warmth and softness of her touch.

Blaine sighed before starting. "Well, not so well. I was already nervous before I was even called in, and when I actually sat down in his office it just got worse. He told me he had listened to the tracks and demos I had sent him and didn't like them, hated them actually. He wants to change my whole image, to be more of a..a... pop-ish, teenage heartthrob kind of singer. But that's not really want I want to do, ya know? My music...my album -if I even make one- I want it to be the kind of music you..you can be friends with, ya know? Not all the autotuned, overdone crap they play now," Blaine stopped after realizing he was rambling, and shyly looked over at his companion. But she was still staring at him intently with those gorgeous green eyes, listening to his every word.

They stayed like for what seemed like ages, dark green piercing into honey hazel. "You have beautiful eyes," Blaine whispered so quietly no one but the girl sitting just a few inches away from him could hear. And as maigcal as the moment was, Quinn broke out of the trance first, shaknig her head and blinking.

"I really couldn't see you as the next Justin Bieber, either," the former cheerleader retorted, going back to her old witty self, their seemingly special moment long just like that, they returned to their light discussion, never bringing up the topic of Blaine's impending job.. or other things.

If one was to just look at the pair sitting oh so close at the tiny table, listening attentively to one another with oblivious chemistry flowing through them, one would conlcude they were dating. Blaine almost went to the thought, but didn't bring anything else remotely flirtatious or romantic after his last comment that left them both feeling awkward. They were so wrapped up in each other they didn't realize everyone had left until the old manager gruffily told them it was time to leave.

Abruptly Quinn looked at her watch and gaped after reading it, jumping out of her chair. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry; I didn't realize how late it was! I really have to go!" she exclaimed, pratically running out the door.

A confused Blaine followed after her, jogging onto the sidewalk, the bright lights of New York illuminating the dark night.

"Wait! At least let me walk you home! I don't want anything to happen to you!" He yelled after her, not caring about the weird glances people around him were giving him.

"It's fine! Hey, don't forget to tell me about how your next meeting goes!" Quinn yelled back, Blaione losing sight of her between the throng of people and the darkness the buidling were shadowing.

Blaine groaned and trugded back to his apartment, still puzzled. Once he fell into bed, he conteplated the whole night. Did she even think of him romantically? Or was she just looking for a friend in the big city? He cursed himself for yet again not getting the full extent of Quinn and Noah's relationship. Were they dating, or just friends? It was all so unknown. At least he knew her full name now; Quinn Fabray. He smiled at the thought, and liked the way her name rolled off his tongue. And she said she wanted to hear from him again, which couldn't be that bad of a sign.

Blaine tried to turn his mind off and rolled over, trying to get some sleep and saving his problems for tomorrow to handle.

X~X~X


	7. Unicorns and Pen Pals

**Disclaimer: Believe it or not, I still don't own glee. But Christmas is coming...**

Blaine woke to the smell of bacon. And boy, did it smell heavenly. His nose followed the scent the short distance to the kitchenette, to see not who he was expecting. At the counter was a pretty blonde, humming what Blaine come make out as a Brittney Spears number while stirring scrambled eggs on the stove, oblivious to the musician standing just a few feet away.

"Umm...you're not Rory," Blaine stated, his triangular eyebrows furrowed together. The girl jumped at his voice, and turned around, smiling at him.

"My name is Brittany. I'm making breakfast," she replied innocently. "And you are?"

"Umm... Blaine. The guy that _lives here. _What are you doing here?" Blaine said a little louder, still extremely confused why this girl was in his kitchenette making breakfast.

"Um there is no need to be sassy. That's bullying and I will not tolerate it," she started, continuing on her quest of making the meal. "And Rory told me about you. We met last night at the bar and we got to talking. He told me he was Irish and that obviously means he's a leprechaun. And with me being a unicorn, I knew we had to abide to the number one rule of all magical creatures," she told Blaine, who looked at her strangely, but gestured her to go on. "You don't know the number one rule?" she gaped in disbelief when he shook his head no. "Well since I am a unicorn and unicorns are called to do good deeds, I will tell you. The number one rule for all magical creatures is to stick together! Otherwise we might go extinct, and that wouldn't be good. So he invited me over here, and we watched magical movies and played magical games all night and to repay him for his kindness I am making breakfast." she ended simply, shrugging her shoulder slightly. "It's just what unicorns do."

As Blaine was trying to find words to respond to this strange encounter, his notorious roommate appeared from his bedroom, looking tired but smiled warmly at Brittany.

"Rory!" Blaine yelled at his roommate. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he gestured to his bedroom.

"Umm...who is she?" Blaine demanded after walking far enough away the bizarre girl couldn't hear.

"That's Brittany." Rory replied. "I met her last night at a bar when you were out doing God knows what. She was talking crazy about unicorns and magical creatures, but she was hot so I continued to talk to her. Then we decided to come back here and hung out a bit."

"Wait...you didn't..._do _anything...right?" Blaine whispered. "I mean, the girl obviously needs mental help.."

"No, no, no. I mean, I wanted to but I'm not that much of a arse. Turns out she's really cool, and plus she's making breakfast," Rory answered, and grinned at the latter.

"Ok then... Good talk," Blaine blinked in puzzlement before shaking his head and walking out. "New York sure is crazy.." he mumbled under his breath.

X~X~X

"How can you be in love with her if you've never even met her?" Sam said with Blaine guffawing next to him.

"I don't know man, I know it sounds crazy, but we totally have a connection. She gets me," Finn tried defending himself, but to no avail: the rest of his companions were still laughing at him.

They were all out at a local pub- hat Is Artie, Blaine, Rory, Finn, and Sam. They had a few beers and were talking relationships. After getting Sam to finally stop gushing about how amazing and beautiful Mercedes was and being a little weirded out by Rory's encounter with unicorn girl Brittany, it was Finn's turn to shine.

"I know pen pals are so third grade, but I told her stuff I've never told anyone. She's just really awesome, and we even talked about meeting soon," Finn continued on with his story.

"Dude, what if you meet her and she's an ugly old prune?" Artie asked in between sips.

"Or a drag queen in herifties!" Sam shouted a little too loudly, making Rory laugh even harder.

"No guys, I know this girl is real. She's too amazing to be fake," Finn argued, trying to uphold his argument.

"Whatever you say dude," Rory replied. "Just make sure I'm invited to the wedding."

They all replied with chuckles, even Finn. The group had all become good friends since Sam and Mercedes get together, and tried to go out for drinks at least once a week. "Allllll right everybody!" a loud voice, clearly drunk with all the slurs, blared through the microphone. "Who's next for karaoke?!"

"Let's do it," Blaine said to the group.

They all looked at him like he had scorpions crawling out of his ears. "What? Umm I'd rather not embarrass myself," Rory disputed.

"And I would actually like to show my face in this bar again," Sam added.

"No guys, it would be fun!" Finn said, encouraging Blaine's idea. "C'mon, what is that saying? You only die once?"

"It's you only live once," Blaine corrected, sending a apologetic smile to the lanky man. "If you don't go, I'll go and embarrass you beyond belief. You guys are all acting like 12 year old girls."

That did it. All the men stood up and made their way towards the stage, applause and cheers from people sitting in the scattered tables across the place.

After a few minutes of whispering ideas to one another, they finally decided on a classic song they knew would be a hit, especially for the ladies in the room.

"Hello, everyone!" Blaine said. "Uh, my name is Blaine, and these are my friends Rory, Sam, Artie, and Finn. Hope you enjoy the show," he winked after introducing everyone, making some younger girls swoon. And with that, the music started.

**Boyz We are the Boyz in Motion, **

**We give you our devotion Boyz **

**We are the Boyz in Motion, **

**We give you our devotion Boyz **

**We are the Boyz in Motion, **

**We give you our devotion Boyz **

**We are the Boyz in Motion, **

**We give you our devotion **

**Can you feel the beat inside? **

**Showing what you try and hide... **

**I can feel the rhythm of your heart **

**Yea yea what it's all about **

**Yea yea wanna hear you shout **

**C'mon everybody try and make some noise with the Boyz **

**We are the Boyz in Motion, **

**We give you our devotion Boyz**

Throughout the number, the group did obviously unsynchronized choreography, tripping over each other and laughing a little too loudly at some parts. But the audience seemed to love it, almost everyone on their feet dancing and singing along. At the end, all five of them were breathing heavily with bright smiles plastered on all their faces. They bowed very clumsily and made their way off the small stage, laughing and jumping on each other, high off the excitement of the low key song.

"Ok," Artie started after the group was reseated and calmed down a bit. "That was freakin' awesome, yo!"

"Definitely," Sam agreed. "If only Finn's mystery girl was here to see it!" Everyone erupted in laughter- except for Finn, who ducked his head in embarrassment.

"I should have never told you guys! Ugh, you just wait," he tried arguing back but to no use.

Blaine smiled at his new friends. He mind had completely pushed his thoughts of his and Quinn's confusing relationship to the side and forced himself to have a good time. Which he was, but thought that the only thing that would make this better was if a certain green eyed girl was with him.

But besides that, he was finally starting to feel at home in the big city.

X~X~X

**Short and sweet! :) The song was "Boyz In Motion" from That's So Raven. ;)**

**Also I hope I did all the character justice! Especially Brittany, that was tough. **


	8. Singing Waiters and Nicknames

**Disclaimer: in case you haven't guessed, I still don't own glee. **

X~X~X

Blaine sighed and ran his hands through his unkempt hair, his elbows pressed against the makeshift table. The bills were starting to come in, and finding a job in New York City was a lot harder than he thought. He and Rory had been looking for what seemed like weeks, and no success. His job with the producer was hanging on by a thin, thin thread, and he knew if something big didn't happen soon with that job, he would be hauling his butt back to Lima. And he definitely couldn't let that happen.

The front door jiggled open to a just as frustrated looking Rory. Blaine turned his head towards his roommate. "Any luck?" he asked.

"No," The Irishman answered dejectedly. "No one wants to hire!" He took a seat next to his friend. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll figure something out," Blaine said, trying to sound positive. "I mean, that one bar hasn't gotten back to us yet, they might be considering us."

"It's useless," Rory sighed, getting up from his seat and walking to his bedroom. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Blaine yawned at looked over at the microwave clock, which read 12:45. He stretched and decided that dream world seemed like a much better choice than the actual one.

X~X~X

Blaine pursed his lips together while stretching his arm over his guitar to write down a few more bars of music. He had been working on a new demo to show to Mr. Smith, and hoped it sounded a little more of what he was looking for, but with a little bit of Blaine's own flair.

He got interrupted by a quiet knock on the door and a head peeking into the room. "Hey Blaine!" Mercedes exclaimed, walking into the apartment after Blaine smiled warmly back at her. "I was wondering if I could borrow an egg?" she asked.

"Sure," Blaine replied, putting down his guitar and half finished sheet music to retrieve the ingredient.

"How's the song writing going?" Mercedes asked after he handed her the egg.

"Not so well," Blaine replied with a grim look on his face. "And I need to get a job soon, otherwise it's back to Ohio I go."

"That is unfortunate," she agreed. All the sudden, her face lit up. "Hey! We're hiring down at the diner where I work! We need waiters that can carry a tune. I'm sure if you applied you would get the job immediately!"

Blaine looked at skeptically. A singing waiter wasn't exactly what he had in mind. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

Three days later, he found himself and Rory wearing ill-fitting, poorly made, thin tuxedos with equally as cheap head microphones strapped to their cranium and waiting tables to rude New Yorkers. Mercedes had conveniently forgot to tell the boys that the restaurant, Frosty's Palace, was '50's themed. That meant everything in the diner was decked out in a blast from the past style - including the employees.

"Dude, I'm pretty sure there was a reason the clothes from the '50s went out of style. THEY ARE HORRIBLE," Rory told Blaine while they were on their break, pulling on the itchy collar.

"Hey, at least we finally afford to get groceries now," Blaine replied, grimacing at the polyester pants rubbing against his skin.

"Flanagan! Anderson! Get your butts back out here, break's over!" their manager, a stolid man in his late sixties barked at them. They rushed back out to the dining hall and plastered cheesy smiles on their faces, the jukebox blaring their next number, _Rock Around the Clock _by Bill Haley. Blaine, Rory, and the rest of the clean cut waiters began to dance around the tables, twirling and twisting and sending the occasional wink to a group of girls. By the time the last note was sung, the group of young men were all sweaty and itching from dancing in those oh so uncomfortable outfits. But it was a job, and he was getting paid a decent amount, so Blaine couldn't complain too much.

The rest of his shift continued similarly, with other numbers including _Build Me Up Buttercup _by The Foundations and _At The Hop _by Danny and The Juniors. By the end of his shift, the curly haired man thought he did pretty well, considering it was only his second night on the job.

Later that night, as he was clocking out, Blaine heard the familiar chime of the bell signaling a new customer was walking in. He cocked his head out behind the counter and his eyes almost popped out of his sockets. There, standing in the middle of the practically empty restaurant, was none other than Quinn Fabray.

As much as he wanted to greet her, he ducked under the counter in embarrassment. After all, he was working at a crappy diner and was wearing an extremely unflattering suit.

However, he wasn't that lucky. "Blaine?" he heard Quinn ask. She peeked over the counter and covered her mouth to keep from laughing. "What are you doing behind the counter?"

"Uhh..."Blaine trailed off sheepishly, slowly standing up and blushing stupidly. "I...uh... I work here," he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Are...are you serious?" Quinn asked, trying to stifle her giggles. "Why didn't you tell me? That's so adorable!"

Blaine raised his head at her last comment. "Really?"

"Uh.. yeah! Not everyone can pull off those polyester tuxes quite like you," she grinned, reaching over the counter and fixing his collar. "I'm just sad I missed your performance of a totally rocking fifties song."

Blaine laughed out of embarrassment. "Well I had to find some way to pay the bills. What are you doing here?" he inquired.

"I was on my way home and stopped by for a coffee. And this place looked...cute. Plus it's named after _Grease, _one of my favorite movies, so I'm sure it can't be that bad." Quinn took a seat on one of the barstools and set her purse down next to her. "So what do you recommend?"

"Considering it's only my second shift, I'm not much of an expert on our menu. However I know first hand that the cherry Coke is pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself," Blaine said, continuing with their playful banter.

"Alright, hit me up." Quinn replied.

Blaine made two cherry Cokes; one for the girl and one for himself. After all, he was closing tonight and there were less than 5 people in the diner. He leaned over the counter while they conversed. Blaine couldn't help but notice when her coat sleeves rode up, dark marks dotted her silky skin. When the blonde noticed his less than subtle staring, she quickly excused it, saying she burnt her hands on the oven the day before. Blaine was hesitant to agree, but let the matter drop.

After both cokes were empty, the restaurant was completely empty and Quinn began to pull out her wallet.

"Oh no, it's on me," Blaine said, stopping her. When she began to protest, he cut her off once more. "It's fine. I get free drinks anyway."

Quinn looked at him questioningly, but made no further move to pay. "Thanks," she smiled. "I really like talking to you, Ohio."

Blaine beamed at the compliment. "You know, I still haven't come up with a nickname for you," he pointed out.

"Hasn't the weather been great lately?" Quinn responded, trying to change the subject.

"Oh no no no," Blaine interrupted, walking over to her side of the counter. "If I get a nickname, so do you."

"Quinn works for me if it works for you," she shrugged.

Blaine shook his head, but still smiled, sitting down on the seat next to her. "I don't have a good one right now, but I know how to get a really spectacular one," he said.

"Oh really?" Quinn asked playfully, turning to face the man.

"Yup. Let's play twenty questions."

"Really? I guess I forgot we were in middle school," Quinn replied sarcastically.

"C'mon it'll be fun! How bad can it be?"

The green eyed girl responded with an eye roll but didn't stop Blaine when he asked the first question. He decided to start out easy. "What's your favorite color?"

"That's too easy! Blue."

"Your turn."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Hey, you can't use the same question!" Blaine protested.

"Why not? Besides, I really want to know your favorite color," Quinn argued.

Blaine groaned but still retorted. "Red. How many boyfriends have you had?"

Quinn smirked but still proceeded to answer. "Let's see...there was James, my first crush and kiss in the first grade. Then I had my first real 'boyfriend' freshman year. We broke up at homecoming, but that's another story. Then I started dating Noah sophomore year. We've been dating ever since so...that's 2 and a half. What about you?"

Blaine's heart dropped when he heard that she was dating Noah. And they had been dating for almost 5 years...seemed like they were pretty sturdy. And they were probably living together...in others words, Blaine's hopes were kinda shattered. He hadn't realized how long he had been staring into space unitl Quinn waved her small hand in his face.

"Blaine? Ohio? You there?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. What was the question?"

"How many girlfriends have you had?"

"Um.." Blaine began to think. "To be honest, it's only been one. Since I went to an all boys school I was kinda awkward around girls, which was highly rare. But I dated this girl named Laura, she was sweet and pretty enough, but her personality was as flat as a pancake. She was easy to take home to please my dad, but when we got together we literally had _nothing _to talk about. So, being the huge heartbreaker I am, I broke it off," he told. "Umm... siblings?"

They continued this little game until Blaine heard the diner door open yet again. He glanced at the wall clock reading 1:35. He was pretty sure he had switched the _OPEN _sign to its opposite, so who could be barging in?

Much to his dismay, a rather angry looking Noah appeared, walking in long strides over to Quinn.

"Where have you been?" he asked gruffly, grabbing her arm.

Blaine could've sworn he saw the small girl grimace a little at the touch, but he shrugged it off as just needing warm cup of coffee.

"Noah, you remember Blaine right? The one from Sam's party?" she asked, the bulkier man finally noticing the musician.

"Oh, yes," Noah said, quickly dropping his tight grip on Quinn's arm and instead holding it out for a handshake. Blaine hesitantly took it, and dropped it as soon as what he deemed socially acceptable ( After all, Blaine could never forget his dapper manners). "How has the city been treating you?"

"Oh, I'm getting by. That's the best you can do here," Blaine replied awkwardly, trying to make small talk. "And you?"

"Just fine." he simply stated, then turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "Quinn, I've been worried sick about you. I've been practically searching the whole city when you didn't come home," he scolded, almost patronizingly. He aimed his scorn back at Blaine. "Thank you, but I think I'll be taking MY GIRLFRIEND home now." And with that, he grabbed Quinn's hand possessively, picked up her purse, and walked out.

X~X~X

**This one is a little longer, hope you liked!**


	9. Calendars and Suspicions

**Disclaimer: What's this? I still don't own glee?**

X~X~X

"What took you so long to get home last night?" Rory asked his roommate the next morning. "I know you were locking up, but three in the morning is a little late, don't you think?" Blaine, Rory, and Brittany were both sitting at the small table squished in between the small space of the kitchen and living area. Surprisingly, Blaine enjoyed the blonde's company, plus she made excellent breakfasts. Blaine was drinking his much needed coffee, while Rory ate a heaping bowl of Lucky Charms and Brittany was rummaging the cardboard box for the "magical letter from her unicorn friends".

"Uh, Quinn stopped by around closing, and we talked for a bit," Blaine tried to say nonchalantly.

"A bit?!" Rory exclaimed, looking at him with a questioning expression. "I would call 2 hours more than a bit."

"We may have lost track of time," Blaine replied sheepishly.

"Oh, I see," Rory teased, winking at him.

"Was it because you guys were kissing?" Brittany asked innocently.

"Or something a little more than kissing?" Rory chimed in with another suggestive look.

Blaine scowled at the both of them before answering. "No, I didn't get the chance even if I wanted to." he sighed disappointedly.

"Surrrre. So did you find out if her and that Mohawk dude were dating?" Rory asked with a mouthful of the sugary cereal.

"Yeah. Turns out my so called 'amazing luck with the ladies' is running out, because they are exclusive. And since high school, too," Blaine said dejected.

Rory gave him a sympathetic look before shoving another spoonful of food in his mouth. "That's rough dude."

"Yeah I know. But what was even weirder was he just, like, showed up. He barged in, grabbed her and left," Blaine said, more than a little confused at the scenario that happened just a few hours before. "He was really forceful and physical with her, and basically told me to back off his girlfriend."

"Wait, you guys have barely even hung out! What is so scared about?" Rory asked.

Brittany gaped at Rory. "Um Blaine is a total catch, even though he wears too much hair gel and I think it should be banned from the United States and his bowtie fetish is more than a little creepy. Are you saying he's not attractive enough to get a girlfriend? Because that's bullying and I will not tolerate it," she scolded the now blushing Irishman, with Blaine trying to stifle his laughter.

"No, I meant to say that you're a total catch dude," Rory said, trying to redeem himself. Brittany looked at him approvingly and motioned Blaine to continue with his story.

"I don't know! And I couldn't sworn I saw bruises on her arms when her sweater sleeves rolled up. And she's so guarded, like we never talked about anything deeper than the weather," Blaine explained. "I don't want to assume anything, but if Noah's being abusive, I want to help her."

"Weather confuses me. No one ever taught me to read a calendar so when I go outside it's always a surprise," Brittany added in, getting very confused looks from the two men.

"I don't know what you're going to do man," Rory responded, ignoring Brittany's bizarre comment. "Most people in abusive relationships don't tell anyone."

"I know, and I don't want to be wrong and totally offend Quinn, but I don't want her to keep being Noah's punching bag," Blaine pointed out.

"If you really want to help her, earn her trust first. Then call her out on it," Rory said, grabbing his empty bowl and walking to the sink.

"If I can even get that far," Blaine mumbled.

X~X~X

"Well you aint caught a rabbit, you aint no friend of mine!"

Blaine ended the song with a bright smile on his face, sitting on his knees and arms up high. The crowded diner gave a venial amount of applause and went back to their earlier conversations, not paying anymore attention to the entertainment staff. Nonetheless, the aspiring musician didn't let it damper his spirits and went to the kitchen to grab some water.

As Blaine walked out of the restaurant later that night, he stopped suddenly after seeing two girls talking in hushed tones in the alleyway behind the diner's dumpsters. After sneaking a little closer, he noticed the smaller of the girls was crying hysterically, and her friend trying to calm her down. The obviously distressed girl was wearing a dark hood, covering her face. They were talking in hushed tones, too quiet for him to understand. Blaine gasped after he realized he knew the two whispered voices.

Mercedes and Quinn.

He skulked behind a dumpster and ignored the prude smell and poked his head out. He knew he probably shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he couldn't help it.

They were still talking too quietly to be understood, but Blaine could see their expressions. Mercedes removed the dark hood that was masking Quinn's identity, making her and Blaine gasp. There was a large bruise marking the side of her beautiful face, right under her left eye. She started to cry even harder and tried hiding her face with her hands. Mercedes gently wrapped her arm around her friend, and they started walking toward the street.

Blaine ran out of the alley and continuing sprinted all the way back to his apartment. Once inside, he slammed the door and slide down on his knees, breathing heavy. He knew his suspicions had to be true, and it left him heartbroken.

X~X~X


	10. Twin Sisters and Jealousy

**Disclaimer: you guessed it; glee still doesn't belong to me. **

**warning: abusive puck...sorry guys. **

X~X~X

"So my sister wants to come and visit," Blaine said to Rory the next morning. They were sitting at the kitchen table, Blaine drinking coffee and his roommate eating yet another bowl of Lucky Charms. It had become a normal routine for the two.

"Say no," Rory replied quickly, his mouth full of the sugary cereal.

"Hey, I know she's annoying...and bossy...and a little overbearing at times, but it'll only be for a weekend," Blaine argued. "Plus I haven't seen her in a while, and as much as I hate to admit it, I kind of miss her."

"I don't! She lost my love after trying to jump my bones in the seventh grade at your birthday party," Rory objected.

"Ok that was because we were playing Seven Minutes in Heaven, and she did not try jumping your bones. She just wanted you to kiss her and when you didn't she took matters into her own hands," Blaine tried to stick up for his sibling.

"Look, I know you guys have, like, twin senses of something, but whatever she told you was not true. She was totally trying to get some of my lucky charms," Rory replied, shoving another spoonful of food into his mouth. "Plus she was the worst kisser. Too much tongue and way too sloppy."

Blaine rolled his eyes before taking his empty glass to the sink of dirty dishes. "Just try to be nice when she visits, ok? I'll make sure she doesn't stay more than a weekend, and take her out as much as a can," he tried compromising with his stubborn friend.

"Whatever," Rory mumbled. "Just give me a few days notice so I can write my suicide note."

X~X~X

Blaine finished putting his enormous amount of hair gel into his unruly mane. He sighed at his reflection in the mirror, dreading what he was about to do.

He felt like he was walking to death row as he walked down the cold hallway toward Mercedes' apartment. Ever so slowly, he brought up his hand and knocked on the door.

The door opened to a smiling Mercedes, with sleepy eyes that were still bright. "Hey Blaine! What's up?" she greeted him, but oddly didn't invite him inside like she usually did.

"Oh, I need to uh...talk to Sam," Blaine fibbed, creating a fast lie in his head.

"Oh, he's not home. Stayed out late with some of his friends and just crashed there. I'll tell him you stopped by!" Mercedes answered quickly and was about to close the door when Blaine stopped her.

"Wait, Mercedes! I need to talk to you. About Quinn," Blaine exclaimed, causing Mercedes to freeze, and pull him inside.

"What about her?" Mercedes inquired forcefully, hands on her hips after she had locked the door.

"After work last night I saw you two...talking."

"What else did you see?" Mercedes' cogent attitude was still prominent.

"I saw her in hysterics, and I saw..." Blaine trailed off, not finishing his thought. He didn't need to. Mercedes' eyes opened wide at his last words and the musician knew the diva knew what he had seen. "Do you know what Noah is doing to her?"

"Noah?" Mercedes asked, her face forming a confused expression. "Why do you bring up Noah?"

Now Blaine was the bewildered one. "Umm...didn't he hit her?" he said in a quieter tone.

"WHAT?!" Mercedes yelled. "What's the matter with you white boy? She was on her way home and some gang member mugged her. Took her wallet and everything." she explained.

Blaien was still extremely doubtful of her story, but left it alone.

X~X~X

"BLAINERS!" a loud yell echoed through the airport as a highly energetic girl rushed over to Blaine. She hugged him tightly, causing Blaine to stumbled a little on his feet. When she finally let her grip a little looser, he replied.

"Good to see you, too, Rachel." She pulled back from the embrace and smiled brightly at him.

"So," she took his arm and began walking out of the airport. "Where to first?"

X~X~X

Blaine was exhausted. Rachel had wanted to see every part of New York, and she meant _everything. _They had been to Times Square, Central Park, went to way too many stores in which he knew Rachel couldn't afford, and she had even treated him to Sardis. Blaine had barely been able to get a word in as his twin talked constantly. Apparently she was also in a relationship; but it was long distance and they had never met. Blaine was skeptical, and told her he was going with her to whenever they were going to meet.

After helping the brunette carry her shopping bags (and there were plenty) in the apartment later that night, he saw Rory and Brittany (her presence had become a normal occurrence for Blaine) playing Candy Land on the floor. The pair glanced up at the twins, Rory's eyes growing wide with fear and Brittany's mouth turning up into a bright smile.

"Rory!" Rachel exclaimed, dropping her bags on the floor and engulfing him in a uncomfortable hug.

"Hello, Rachel," Rory sighed, rolling his eyes before patting her back awkwardly.

"It's been way too long!" Rachel said after pulling out of the hug.

"Maybe not long enough," Rory mumbled in reply as her stood up and rubbed his hands on his pants.

"Are you a unicorn too?" Brittany piped in, looking at the other girl questioningly. Rachel just stared at her with her overdramatic puzzled look and glanced at Blaine to explain.

"No, she's not Britt. This is Rachel. But she is my twin sister, so please be nice," Blaine cleared up.

"I ate my twin in the womb," was her reply.

"Hey Brittany, why don't you show Rachel around the apartment?" Rory said to break the awkward silence that had formed after Brittany's last comment.

"Ok!" was Brittany's response as she took the brunette's hand and dragged her into the kitchen.

"How was playing tour guide for Barbra Streisand?" Rory asked his roommate after the girls were out of ear shot.

"Exhausting. Honestly I just want to go to sleep," Blaine plopped on the couch opposite his friend.

"Are you regretting invite her now?" Rory smirked.

"Well she apparently is in a long distance relationship with a guy that lives here, and they are planning to meet for the first time. If they end up hitting it off, we'll hopefully be left alone."

X~X~X

Quinn yelped in pain as her body was slammed into the thin walls of her shared apartment complex. She slid down the wall until scrambling in the corner, knees pulled up to her chin and arms covering her face as much as possible.

"You think you can just go wherever you want, whenever you want, huh?" Noah yelled at her, hitting her again.

"Noah, please! I'm sorry! Please stop!" Quinn cried out, thick, ugly tears running down her face as another blow hit her ribcage.

"Then tell me that stupid bowtie loving mongrel means nothing to you! I don't want you seeing him again!" Noah shouted in her face, kneeling down next to her and forcefully grabbing her wrist and waist to pull up to eye level. Quinn winced before responding between heavy sobs.

"He means nothing! I won't talk to him again! Please Noah, please!" Quinn pleaded, looking into his angry eyes.

"You should feel horrible for doing that to me! Leaving your boyfriend all by himself while you're practically CHEATING ON ME by hanging out with that bastard!" Puck screamed into her face. "Look at me when I talk to you!"

Quinn cowered underneath him and shrunk back down to the hard floor. "I'm so sorry. Please! I won't ever do it again, just _please stop hitting me!" _Quinn begged, and fortunately Noah stepped back.

"Fine. Just know the next time you even _think _about hanging out with him again, it'll be much worse," Noah threatened before slamming the beer bottle at the wall in frustration.

The small blonde crawled back into their room before peeling off her alcohol stained shirt and put on warm pajamas. Her arms and ribs hurt and she knew that there would be purple bruises there the next morning. She curled up into a ball on one side of the bed, making sure it wasn't the right side (the right side was Noah's) and cried into her pillow.

She thought she was rid of him when she ran away, ran to New York, where she thought she would become invisible, impossible for him to find her again. However, she was terribly mistaken when he had followed her to a small gas station in Oklahoma. She had gotten a plenty beating for that, but luckily no where visible with clothes to cover it. Since then, he had been pretty lenient on the beatings, until she was late the one night she met Blaine for coffee. He had demanded to know her reason for being so late, and when she told him the reason, he only became more harsh and cruel. And after he saw them chatting at the diner, the bashings only increased.

However, Noah wasn't a bad person, no, Quinn thought. It was only when he had alcohol running in his system and he had a bit of a temper. And most of the time he was right. She should make time for him. He had been good to her, always taking care of her, even in their high school years. He was really romantic when he wanted to be.

But then she really liked Blaine. She knew the moment she saw him on the side of the road, hair all askew and the bright brown coffee stain in the middle of his shirt, that adorable look plastered on his face that that wouldn't be the last. He was so charming, and polite, and even though she just met him but a month ago, she knew he would never hurt her. She had wanted to kiss him since that night at the coffee shop, but Blaine was smart. Quinn knew it was only a matter of time before he got suspicious of all her excuses and would leave her like everybody else.

Unfortunately, her and Blaine should, _could,_ only be a daydream. If Noah could find her in the middle of Oklahoma, he sure wasn't letting her leave anytime soon.

X~X~X

"So, does my little Blainers have a Yorker girlfriend yet?" Rachel asked the next afternoon. The two of them were walking among the streets of New York with no particular destination in mind.

Blaine laughed. "Unfortunately, no. But there is one girl I have my eye on."

Rachel grabbed his arm forcefully and jumped up and down. "OHMIGOSH! WHAT'S HER NAME?" she yelled, much to some locals' irritation.

"I'm not saying anything until you calm down!"

After calming herself to Blaine's standards, he continued. "Her name is Quinn. Ironically we met before arriving. She helped us fix a flat tire on the way and she's cousins with my neighbor, where we saw each other again and I got her number. I really like her, and I thought she liked me too, but she's dating some guy named Noah," Blaine sighed after finishing his story.

Rachel gave him a sympathetic smile. "That does stink. Well there are plenty of fish in the sea!" She smiled at him before skipping down the busy street, dragging Blaine's arm behind her.

X~X~X

Blaine sipped his beer quietly, slouching in his bar stool. The whole gang- that is Mercedes, Sam, Rory, Brittany, Quinn, Puck, Finn, and Artie- were enjoying a night of together. The curly haired man, however, was not having that much fun. He hadn't talked to Quinn since that night at the diner, and never brought up the issue with Mercedes or anyone else. Blaine had never really been a jealous type, but seeing Puck snake his arm around Quinn's waist and them quietly giggling to each other made him practically see green.

He checked his watch for what seemed like the millionth time since they arrived just an hour ago. Rachel had said she was going to do some shopping then meet up with them later. She was 20 minutes late, and Blaine was getting a little worried.

Just when he was about to get up and look for the petite brunette, she came running through the door, her hair and clothes disheveled.

"BLAINE? BLAINE?" she called out loudly, scanning the room for her brother. He responded with a wave of his hand and Rachel made her way over to the large group.

"Guys, this is my twin sister, Rachel," Blaine introduced. "Rachel, this is Mercedes, Sam, you already know Rory and Brittany, Artie, Puck, Quinn, and that Frankenstein over there is Finn," he paused to look over at his twin, but noticed she was too busy staring at the last name he had called out.

"Hi, everyone. Hello, Finn," she said quitter, staring at Finn almost shyly. And Rachel Barbra Berry _never _got shy.

They group all murmured polite hello's, and Finn seemed almost in a trance.

"Rachel. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Finn said, getting up from his seat and walking towards the noticeably smaller girl.

"Sure," she said, her eyes still glued to his. "Blaine, I'll be right back," she told her twin, her gaze however never leaving the taller man in front of her.

"Well that was strange," Blaine said once the pair had left.

"Ya think?" Sam chimed in, with his arm around Mercedes. "You would think she was his pen pal," he snickered, getting laughs from Rory and Artie.

Blaine's inner light bulb when off at Sam's last remark. "That's it! They must be!" he exclaimed. "That's why they were looking so love struck! Rachel told me she was in a long distance relationship with someone out here, and so was he!"

"That's so uncanny," Quinn added. "This kind of stuff only happens in the movies." He looked over at Quinn, who's eyes were not on her boyfriend but of the bowtie loving musician talking. They exchanged small smiles before he responded.

"Guess the world still has a little magic after all."

X~X~X

Blaine slammed down his beer bottle a little too loudly, but didn't seem to care. All his feelings were crammed into one emotion: pure jealousy. He couldn't stand Quinn practically sitting on Noah's lap, whispering insignificant nothings into each others ears, earning back a laugh in return. All his dapper chivalry was out the window. It took all his will power not to hurl himself across the table and punch the Mohawk straight off his head. _I could treat her so much better, _Blaine thought angrily to himself, thinking about those bruises on Quinn's ivory arms.

"You ok there, Blaine?" Mercedes asked. Obviously his friend had noticed how upset he was getting.

"Just fine and dandy. Why do you ask?" Blaine responded, practically gritting his teeth in his rage. Mercedes looked at him skeptically before returning in her conversation with Artie and Brittany.

He didn't know how much longer he could take this torture. He stood up abruptly, causing the rest of his friends to stare up at him. "What? I just have to go take a piss," He sneered, looking directly at Quinn, who looked back with sad eyes.

Once he reached the restroom, he turned on the tap and splashed his face with the cold water. Once dried off, he looked at his reflection. He was a little more cooled down than at the table, but rage still ran through his veins. He knew Mercedes' story about 'being mugged' was completely false. He could only assume what was happening at Quinn and Noah's place, but he didn't want to completely wrong and embarrass himself even more. The only thing he knew for sure was that Quinn wasn't safe, and he knew he had to do something about it.

X~X~X

**Oooo...Some Quinn's POV, some Finchel...what could get better than that? ;)**

**and did anyone catch the Pitch Perfect quote? ;)**


	11. Anger and Complications

**Disclaimer: what's that? I still don't own glee? this is shocking!**

X~X~X

"What's got your panties in a wad?" Quinn asked an unexpected Blaine who had just walked out of the restroom. She leaned against the wall with her slender arms crossed.

"You want to know why I'm so upset?" Blaine replied, trying to keep his voice low though anger was quickly sizzling inside. "You! You are my problem!"

"Me?" Quinn retorted, looking at him with eyebrows raised. "I'm not the one looking over at Noah like you want him to disappear completely!"

"Well maybe I do!" Blaine exclaimed, not caring about how loud he was getting. "Maybe I thought that you actually had feelings for me!"

Quinn gaped at his statement. "When did I ever sent those kind of vibes?" she retorted, leaving her position on the wall to get closer to Blaine.

"Oh, don't even give me that crap. You had me practically wrapped around your pinky finger, and _you knew it. _Yet you continued to just mess with my feelings the whole time and leading me on! Then telling me you had a boyfriend, that killed me. I don't even know why I came here tonight, I knew it was a bad idea when I heard you two were coming," Blaine argued back, running a hand through his hair, not caring about the sticky gel seeping through his fingers.

Quinn stared back at him with those gorgeous green eyes, and Blaine couldn't take it anymore. "And your _damn eyes. _I can't even look at them without feeling so...so...disappointed that you're not mine," Blaine sighed, looking up at Quinn, who's eyes were beginning to tear up. "I'm sorry...I just...I just...I need to leave," Blaine stammered, walking passed Quinn embarrassedly.

"Blaine, please wait," Quinn called out.

"No," Blaine said, turning around one last time to face the blonde. "I can't do this anymore," he ended, shaking his head and storming out of the bar.

The cooler temperature outside was a relief on Blaine's red-hot skin. He was so angry he was surprised steam wasn't coming out of his ears. He walked for what seemed like hours, no particular direction in mind just trying to clear his head. His argument with Quinn had only intensified his feelings. He wanted to yell out in frustration.

He checked his phone and scrolled through his bountiful amount of messages.

Rory: **Where did you go?**

Mercedes: **What happened boo?**

Rory: **Whatever, don't text me back. I see how it is. **

Rachel: **ohmigosh YOU WOULD NEVER GUESS WHAT JUST HAPPENED FINN IS MY OFFICIAL BOYFRIEND NOW ILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING LATER BUT WE ARE GOING OVER TO HIS PLACE PLZ DONT BE MAD ILL TTYL LOVE YOU BLAINERS! 3**

Rory: **ok I don't know what ur problem us but just letting you know im going over Brittany's tonight. see you later bro**

Blaine sighed and pocketed his phone once more, his feet heading in the direction of his apartment. He realized he had been out walking for more than 2 hours, and knew he should probably go home.

He was so tired after reaching the front door that he almost didn't notice the subtle crying coming from a dark corner of his complex and the building adjacent to it. He was going to leave it alone (it was probably some homeless druggie) but since he was always a dapper gentleman no matter how angry he was and decided to take pity.

"Ma'am?" Blaine whispered, walking slowly towards the lump on the ground. "Are you alright?"

Blaine let out an surprised. 'umf' as the small lady jumped up suddenly and clinging to him as if he was her only way of survival. He instinctively tried pushing the girl off, until he recognized the shape of the frail body he was holding. Quinn. Even after a few moments of embracing, Blaine's shirt was already wet with the sobs escaping Quinn's throat.

"Quinn," Blaine breathed out, relishing in the way their bodies melted perfectly together, like the last two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, finally completing a puzzle. But he knew that even though this felt amazing, something was horribly wrong with delicate girl clinging to his chest. "Quinn," he repeated, a little more stated. "Let's go inside."

She nodded into his shoulder, slowly detaching herself from him. He gently wrapped his arm around her slender waist and the way she flinched at the contact made Blaine even more worried about her physical state. He led her inside and quickly shut the door behind them.

Once he had locked the door, he turned around to see Quinn standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. Her sleeves stretched out covering her fiddling hands, while her tear stained eyes darted across the room, looking everywhere but Blaine.

"Do you want some water?" Blaine asked, not wanting to dive right into the conversation they both knew was going to happen.

Quinn nodded her head in reply.

"You can sit down if you'd like," Blaine said from the small kitchen, retrieving the requested drink and sitting down next to the blonde.

She took a silent, long gulp and the pair sat in uncomfortable silence, neither one wanting to start to chat they knew needed to happen.

After a few minutes of fiddling fingers and awkward glances, they both spoke out at the same time.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm so sorry."

They laughed awkwardly, fumbling with the hems on their shirts. "You go first," Quinn stated quietly, looking up at him for the first time that night.

"ok," Blaine answered, taking a deep breath and gazing into those green orbs. "What happened? And why did you come here? And be honest with me."

Quinn looked lsot in thought for a few minutes, then responded to his question. "Let me start from the beginning. Noah and I were neighbors since we were little, and were always good friends. We tried the dating thing in high school, but after.." she trailed off, trying to find the right word. "Various complications broke up by junior year. We ended getting back together and was that couple that broke up and made up faster than you can say relationship. After high school, we tried doing the whole 'living together' thing. Didn't work out so well. I tried to run away by going to New York, but he found me and decided that we would come together. And that's how I got here," Quinn said, placing her hands that were used as gestures back into in lap.

Blaine definitely wasn't satisfied with that answer. He gently moved his arm over to hers, pulling the sleeve up slightly. She instinctively flinched, jerking away. "Let me see," Blaine demanded, sincerity in his amber eyes.

She looked back at the man and inhaled deeply, letting her arm move other to his. He slowly lifted up the fabric, and gasped at the sight. Purple ands black bruises covered must of her skin, with smaller cuts and scabs with dried blood on them. At his reaction, Quinn closed her eyes and choked back a sob.

"Did he do this?" Blaine's voice was quieter than a whisper. When all he got as an answer was another cry, he asked a little more forceful. "Did he do this to you, Quinn?" He looked up to see her eyes closed, head down, nodding.

Blaine had never wanted to hurt anyone intentionally before. But after learning this knew piece of information, he had the strongest urge to do so. To a certain mohawked man. "I'm gonna kill him," Blaine practically growled, standing up and grabbing his keys.

"Blaine, please don't!" Quinn pleaded, standing up and grabbing his arm, pulling back towards the sofa. "Please, just listen to me."

Blaine nodded as much as he could for Quinn to continue. He had to calm down because he was about to punch a wall at the state of madness he was in.

"Noah is really a great guy. He just has a little bit of a temper and when he has alcohol flowing through him, it makes him do crazy things. He always says sorry afterwards. He doesn't mean - "

Blaine cut her off, the storm of irritation and hatred sizzling through his veins. "A _little bit _of a temper?! I would call this," he practically sneered, lifting up Quinn's sleeve to reveal the injuries. "More than just a _little bit of a temper." _

"Blaine, please calm down! For me, please," Quinn pleaded, and Blaine listened.

"Are there more?" Blaine asked in a quieter nodded yet again. "Show me."

She slowly stood up and lifted her worn out sweater to reveal a black tank top. Blaine had to hold back his own tears at the sight of her. Her beautiful skin was covered in small bruises, some larger than others. He got up and stood next to her, rubbing his thumbs on her shoulders soothingly.

Without saying anything, he led her over to the bathroom. He searched frantically in the back of his mind for the information from a first aid training class he had taken at Dalton years ago and managed to clean a few wounds and sooth other bruises. Throughout the half hour of patching her up, not a word was spoken. All that was heard from small winces and tears from Quinn.

After he had finished, he led her over to his bedroom and let her change into some of his pajamas, seeing that her clothes were dirty and stained. He tucked her into his bed and climbed in next to her, spooning her gently. He heard quiet sobs coming from Quinn until she had fallen asleep. Once he was sure that the girl was asleep, he kissed her temple lightly and whispered, "It'll be alright. I'll protect you, no matter what."

X~X~X

**that was really hard to write, to be honest. and sorry about all the angst.**

**hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Christmas and Fist Fights

**Disclaimer: surprise surprise, glee still isn't mine. **

X~X~X

Quinn breathed in deeply, inhaling the faint, sweet scent of peperment and pine. She snuggled even closer to her pillow, the smell making her remisnce about old Christmas times and holiday memories.

..Until she realized the 'pillow' wasn't a pillow, but a crevace between a chest and a shoulder.

_Wiat..what?_

Quinn opened her eyes quickly and glanced at her surroundings. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed she was in a bed -not the most comfortable but still pretty big. Posters of different singers and bands covered the beige walls, and a giutar was propped up in one corner. Clothes - male clothes to be exact- were strewn across the tiny area, but still seemed to be clean. She was wearing someone elses clothes, a large t-shirt and boxer shorts. But what really struck her as strange was her position. Her arm laid across a warm body that what she could tell from the breathing patterns was asleep. The person's arms were wrapped tightly around her body, and the head resting peacefully on tp of her hair. Their legs were tangled underneath the covers. She looked up to realize that the myseterious human was Blaine.

She smiled at his appearence. What was not under the blankets was a cotton grey t-shirt that gave hint of the his muscles lying underneath. His chest moved up and down slowly and peacefully, and light snores escaped his slightly opened mouth. Quinn almost giggled out loud at his hair. Curls sprung out from all directions, some falling over his forehead and into his eyes. Instinctively, she reaching a hand to brush them out of his face. Blaine let out a contented sigh and nestled himself impossibly closer to Quinn.

_Could he be more of a cuddle whore?,_ Quinn thought, gigging softly to herself, but quickly extiguished the happy thought. After all, she knew in just a few short hours that this blissful, almost domestic moment would be gone, and tomorrow's problems would have to be faced.

X~X~X

Blaine stretched, not wanting the morning to be there already. He reached over to the other side of the bed, expecting to feel Quinn's body, but he was met with a cold mattress. He opened his eyes and looked around. Once realizing Quinn was defiantly not in his room, he groaned, stood up, and made his way towards the main ran a hand through his hair and stopped abruptly at the sight before him.

Quinn was in his kitchen, making coffee. She was clad only in one of his old Dalton shirts, obviously too large for her small frame, and a pair of his boxers. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, loose strands hanging down; much like the day they had first met on that abandoned road. He never really thought much about how Quinn would look in his clothes, and he was definitely pleasantly surprised. However, her attire did not distract him from the fact the her bruises - though less prominent than the night before thanks to Blaine's nursing- were still noticeable, running along her arms and ankles and disappearing into her oversized shirt.

Quinn turned around and blushed at Blaine's blatant staring. "I, uh, made coffee. To thank you. For last night."

"Thanks," Blaine said, sitting at one of the barstools and gratefully accepting the steaming cup of caffeine Quinn handed him.

They sipped their coffees quietly for a few minutes. Blaine was not much of a morning person, and wouldn't have more than a minute conversation unless he had an espresso running through his body.

"How did you sleep?" Blaine said, trying to break the obvious ice that was forming between the two's usual chemistry.

"Good. Excellent, actually. You're quite the cuddle monster, Ohio," Quinn said, dissolving the ice and returning back to her normal wit.

Blaione blushed. "Sorry."

"No, no," Quinn replied. "It was...cute. And comforting," she gave him a reassuring smile.

Blaine returned the grin. "As much as I love small talk, I think I deserve a little more explanation for last night," Blaine spoke, dreading the conversation he knew had to happen.

Quinn's smile faltered and she leaned against the counter, sighing. "Your right. What do you want to know?"

"Why did you come here?"

Quinn dropped her head. "I didn't have anywhere else to go," she responded simply, but still looking ashamed.

"Do you think he's going to come looking for you?" Blaine asked, inwardly beaming at the adorableness of Quinn's last comment.

"I honestly don't know," Quinn answered, her voice shaking a bit. This was obviously a touchy and hard subject to talk about, so Blaine took the hand that wasn't clasping the coffee cup and lightly held onto Quinn's hand, gently urging her to continue. "He was really intoxicated last night, so he probably won't be waking up and thinking straight until around 3. But afterwards, I think he will," Quinn told, sounding fearful. "I'm so scared and confused, Blaine. I have no idea what I'm going to do."

Blaine was scared and confused about the situation as well, but didn't want Quinn knowing that. The last thing the poor girl needed was to loose hope. So he put on a brave face and smiled at her. "We'll figure something out. I promise. You don't have to go through this alone anymore."

X~X~X

Blaine was terrified out of his mind.

After everyone had come home and returned to their designated apartments, he had called his group of friends to a meeting. With Quinn's consent, he solemnly told the group about her situation, and they were immediately supportive and eager to help. After an hour of brainstorming, they had formed a plan.

Which led to him, Artie, Rory, Finn, and Sam at Noah's front door. And Quinn, Mercedes, Brittany, and Rachel at his apartment. He gulped audibly and knocked on the front door, with his gang behind him, nodding encouragingly. After almost five minutes of waiting, the door swung open.

To a very hung-over and tired Noah Puckerman. Who did not look too happy at the men before him.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" Noah said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Can we come in?" Artie asked, his politeness obviously being stretched.

"Sure, sure," Noah said, opening the door wider and inviting the men inside.

"Sorry about the mess," Noah said, addressing the liquid stains on the ugly carpet and pieces of glass littering the corners, an obvious attempt to cover the clues of last night's events. Blaine waited for an explanation, but Noah's excuse never came. "I wasn't expecting company."

"Where's Quinn?" Finn questioned, getting right to the point.

"Uh, she's still sleeping. She was really tired last night, ya know?" Noah lied.

"Oh really?" Blaine asked sarcastically, gaining new courage and stepping dangerously closer to the man. "Because I know for a fact that she's over at _my _apartment."

The next few minutes happened in a slow motion blur. Noah winded up his hand and punched Blaine in the face, the blow causing the musician to stumble. His friends reacted quickly, Sam fighting back and pushing Noah into the wall. Once Blaine regained his footing, and even though his cheek was on fire, and he was sure his nose was bleeding, he took out everything on Noah. Sam and Finn held him in place while Blaine went at it, punching and kicking Noah whenever it was visible.

"How does that feel?" Blaine growled, hitting him hard in the chest, getting a groan of pain in response. "Being on the other side of the beating? Not so good now, huh?" Blaine sneered.

"Whoa, dude, slow down, you're gonna kill him!" Rory warned, trying to pull Blaine back but too no avail .

:"Seriously dude," Artie chimed in, grabbing Blaine's other arm and pulling him back, Blaine hands still flailing around.

"No! He needs to get what he deserves!" Blaine yelled, and he was sure steam was blowing out of his ears.

"I think you punished him enough," Finn stated, looking down at Puck's crumpled body on the floor, small moans of pain coming from it every few seconds. "I think it's time for us to go."

"Wait!" Blaine exclaimed, jerking out of his friend's death grips on his arms and leaning down to the heap on the floor. "You even come close to Quinn again, or try to contact her, I won't be hesitant in killing you next time," He threatened. "Understand, Noah?" No reply. "Do you understand?" he demanded, grabbing the collar on his shirt.

"Yes!" Noah yelled, then slumped back down to is earlier position.

Blaine stood up and turned to face his friends, his face red from his rage and injuries. "Let's go."

X~X~X

"What happened?!" Mercedes shrieked, looking at the group of men in front of her, all looking tired and sore.

"Blaine just beat the crap out of Noah, that's what happened," Artie explained, rolling himself next to the couch where Rachel and Brittany were sitting.

"Wait what?" Rachel asked, a confused expression on her face. "Blaine? Beating someone up? That's not my brother."

"Well you better get your eyes checked," Rory retorted. "Because unless that bruise and bloody nose are figments of my imagination, I'm pretty sure he did."

The girls all gasped at Blaine's appearance they were oblivious to just seconds earlier. "What happened?" Rachel demanded.

"Does it hurt?" Brittany asked.

Blaine did love all this attention, but now that his anger had died done, his face was really starting to hurt. He looked over at Quinn, who had remained silent since the group had arrived. She stared back at him with something Blaine couldn't decipher in her beautiful multicolored orbs.

"Guys, you need to stop crowding him," Quinn finally spoke out, her voice more calm and soft than the rest of the group. She stepped closer to him, letting her fingers brush over his growing bruise. "If you look like this, I'm afraid to ask what the other guy ended up with," she whispered, earning a smirk from Blaine.

"Let us girls go clean him up," Mercedes suggested, taking Blaine's hand and dragging him towards the tiny bathroom, which definitely couldn't hold all the girls. Try as they might, Mercedes and Quinn were the only ones able to fit in the bathroom with still a little bit of breathing room to move around and fix Blaine up.

Quinn grabbed some sort of bottle and wetted a towel. Gently, she leaned down and wiped at Blaine's bruising an red face. He winced at the contact, but Quinn's comforting gaze urged him to be strong. Once the two girls had finished cleaning his face up as much as possible, they led him back into the living room, seating him on the couch. Artie, Finn, Sam, and Rory were each explaining the afternoon's events to the surprised girls.

. Blaine was feeling exhausted. The pain medications weren't helping with that, and he found himself drifting to sleep on Quinn's shoulder during Sam's rendition of the fist fight.

X~X~X

** whoa, my longest chapter yet! hope you enjoyed!**


	13. Disney and Disagreements

**Disclaimer: oh you know the drill**

X~X~X

Blaine's eyes flickered open to the sight of an empty living room. The brightness of the TV was almost blinding to his tired brain; however it was fortunately muted. He sat up, rubbing his tired orbs, and wincing in pain when his cheek muscles contracted, reminding him of the bruise marring his skin. He running a hand resting through his gel-less hair, his mind not awake enough to care that his mane was running wild.

His ears picked up the sound of footsteps coming from the kitchen. He looked up to see Quinn walking in, smiling softly at him. "Sleeping Beauty has awoken."

Blaine stuck out his tongue teasingly before replying, his brain still too tired for a witty comeback to be spewed out. "Where is everyone?"

"Considering you've been sleeping for more than twelve hours, they all went home. Rory and Brittany went to get groceries, and Finn and Rachel are practically attached at the hip doing God knows what God knows where," Quinn answered. "I, being the good Samaritan that I am, decided to stay behind and look after your sorry butt."

"Gee, thanks," Blaine said. "I'm just so glad that I have such a caring, kind friend to take care of me in my injured state."

"It really is nothing."

Blaine smiled and patted the seat next to him gesturing for Quinn to sit. Obeying his command, she sat crisscross-applesauce and handing Blaine one of the two steaming cups of coffee occupying her hands. Blaine found the remote and turned the volume up on the screen, aimlessly flicking through channels until Quinn slapped his arm and told him to go back to one of the previous shows.

"Go back, go back!" Quinn exclaimed, reaching over and snatching the remote from his unsuspecting hand.

"What, what?!" Blaine stammered.

"You totally skipped over The Little Mermaid!" Quinn explained. "That's a classic!"

Blaine looked at her, still a bit confused but slightly amused. "Wait...you like Disney movies?"

"Um...who doesn't?" Quinn retorted. "And don't even think about saying you don't because no one can own that many bowties and say they don't enjoy a little bit of Disney magic."

"Hey, hey!" Blaine said, bringing his hand up in defense. "I never said I didn't like Disney. In fact, I love it. I'm just surprised you like it," Blaine said, cocking his head a bit to the side questioningly.

Quinn gaped at him. "And what makes you think I don't like a good Disney film once in a while?" she said, sitting up straighter and lifting her head.

Blaine laughed at her posture. "Nothing, nothing, it's just you don't seem like the type of person who likes singing along to cheesy cartoons and spending an hour and a half of your life watching a movie with a predictable ending." He tried to object.

"Then I guess you don't know me at all," Quinn smirked, ending the conversation by turning her attention back towards the screen.

Blaine dropped the issue and settled to watch the movie. The foot long gap between the two of them was painfully obvious, but neither of them were brave enough to scoot closer. When Ariel started to sing Part of Your World, Blaine couldn't help but sing along, urging Quinn to do the same. She rolled her eyes but smiled at him, singing along just as obnoxiously.

Throughout the movie, the two got unnoticeably closer to where their legs and shoulders brushed against one another. By the time the movie progressed to Kiss the Girl, the two were silent, enjoying the quiet stillness and comfort of being near the other.

"This is probably my favorite part of the movie," Blaine whispered, his gaze still focused on the musical number. "It's like Eric is finally coming to terms with his love for Ariel. Since the moment he met her on the beach, they had already fallen in love. Only now, he's finally realizing it."

"It's shallow," Quinn spoke out softly. "I mean, he hasn't even gotten to know her. I think Ursula said it best. Without her voice, the only thing she really has is her looks. Eric is just another immature boy who only looks at outward appearance instead of looking inside."

Blaine looked over at the girl, who remained still. He could see the dim light of the television reflecting a soft glow on her expressionless face. "I disagree. Her actions definitely spoke louder than her words. You could still see her quirky personality through her muteness, and that's what Eric fell in love with. She was different."

"Different isn't always good," Quinn whispered to the screen.

"You're right," Blaine agreed, causing Quinn the look over at him. "Sometimes being different is so rare that when you find someone that is, you have to grab onto them and never let them go." He slowly reached his hand up to her face, her green eyes penetrating through his, looking a little scared, but excited. "I meant what I said at the coffee shop," Blaine whispered, leaning his face so close to hers that their noses brushed. "You have gorgeous eyes. They're so breathtaking and full of emotion. I love how every time I look at you I can see what you're thinking."

"What I am thinking now?" Quinn asked, her voice soft, her breath warm on Blaine's face. She looked up at his amber eyes.

"This," Blaine simply stated, before brushing his lips ever so gently against Quinn's. When she didn't pull away, he moved his other hand to grasp the other side of her face, his thumb padding along the smooth surface of her cheeks. Blaine deepened the kiss, exhaling contently.

Kissing Quinn was everything Blaine had imagined it would be, only ten thousand times better. Her lips were so soft, a different but pleasant contrast between his rough ones. They tasted like mint and coffee, a delicious combination. She wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with the small curls at the nape of his neck. Blaine slowly moved his arms down her body to rest of her slender waist, pulling her closer to his body. He never wanted to stop kissing her. Unfortunately, the need for oxygen forced the pair to pull away. Their arms didn't move, and Blaine rested his forehead against hers. He looked up at her, and her eyes were still closed. As he got a better look, he realized it wasn't from the uh-ma-zing kiss they had shared, but she was shaking, and her lids were clenched tight.

"What's wrong?" Blaine said, pulling away from their embrace and looking at her with concerned eyes.

She was breathing heavily. "I thought I was ready for this, but I'm not," she said, a sob catching her throat. He rubbed her arms soothingly, urging her to go on. "I'm still not over Noah. I'm so sorry," she said, opening her eyes, which were full to the brim with tears.

Blaine tried to let that comment roll off his back, but it punched him straight in the heart. "Why is there any _getting over? _He ABUSED you Qui-"

"YOU DON'T GET IT!" Quinn yelled, tearing Blaine's hands from her body. "Just because you yelled at him and gave him a little beating doesn't mean it's all happily ever after. Did you do any research on this? It doesn't go away after you leave. I'm still extremely scared from this, and I need time to recover! And you think that...that KISSING ME was the right way to do it?!" she was angry now, and stood up, her arms flailing and rage in her eyes.

"So now you're telling me you have absolutely no feelings for me?" Blaine said, standing up as well.

"Of course I have feelings for you!" Quinn yelled. "Why else would I let you kiss me like that!? If you actually cared for me like you say you do, you would understand that I can't handle a relationship right now!" She groaned in frustration before placing her head in her hands and sobbing.

"I-I..." Blaine trailed off. He felt horrible. He reached his hands out to pull Quinn in a tight embrace. "I'm so sor-"

"Just go away," Quinn stammered, never looking up at him and pushing him away. "You're not the guy I thought you were."

That stabbed Blaine right in the heart. He never, ever, wanted Quinn to think negatively of him. And now here he stood, and screwed up everything. "I'm so sorry Quinn," he said, stepping away from her. "I don't want you to think of me like that, because I'm not that guy."

"Then who are you?" Quinn said, looking at him. When he didn't reply, she continued. "Ok, I get it. I'm going to stay at Mercedes'," she ended by grabbing her coat and slamming the door shut.

Blaine screamed and let a few tears slip out of his eyes before brushing them away angrily. He slammed his own bedroom door shut, content to stay in that cramped space for the rest of his sorry life.

X~X~X

**Wow. That just happened. **

**Please don't hate me. **


	14. Sleepovers and Party Crashers

**Disclaimer: no matter how hard I wish on the evenin' star, I still don't own glee. **

X~X~X

Quinn knocked loudly on the thin door. She wiped away some of her tears and tucked some stray hairs behind her ears. The door opened to Mercedes, her eyes widening at the sight of her friend. "What happened?" she asked concerned.

Instead of an answer, Quinn engulfed her in a tight hug. "Can I stay here tonight?" she mumbled into Mercedes' shoulder.

The curvy girl nodded her head. "Of course. But can I ask why you aren't at Blaine's?"

Quinn pulled away from the friendly embrace, feeling much better already. "It's a long story," she sighed.

"Then I think it's the perfect opportunity for a SLEEPOVER!"

X~X~X

Three hours later, Quinn, Mercedes, Brittany, and Rachel were sprawled around the tiny living area, show tunes (much to Rachel's persistence) playing softly in the background while they chatted. Brittany was lying upside down on the couch, playing with strands of hair, her eyes crossed. Rachel was standing in the kitchen making snacks and engrossed in telling a story. Mercedes and Quinn were sitting on carpet, Mercedes brushing the blonde's hair.

"And that's how I won my first singing competition, at the meager age of 3 months," the brunette finished with a flourish, bring the tray of snacks over to the group.

"Gosh, I feel like I'm in high school again," Quinn said, taking a chocolate covered pretzel from the plate.

"Slumber parties are the best! I never really got invited to many when I was younger, but considering my best friend was capital G gay, I had my share of girl time," Rachel chimed in, sipping from her soda.

"I once dated a gay guy," Brittany said absentmindedly. "His hands were super soft. When I asked him about it, he said he used pig fat."

Quinn shook her head in disbelief at Brittany. "Where does your brain come up with this stuff?"

"I'm a unicorn. Don't question me."

"OK!" Mercedes said, jumping up and clasping her hands together. "Let's play Truth or Dare!"

Brittany cheered over the groans coming from the two other girls. "Do we really have to? It always ends badly," Rachel argued.

"I agree. Nothing good comes from that game," Quinn nodded her head at Rachel.

"Oh c'mon, it's not that bad! Plus we can get to know each other better," Mercedes suggested.

Rachel and Quinn shared a look. "Fine," Quinn spoke for the both of them. "But if something bad happens, I'm blaming you."

"Yay!" Mercedes said, clapping her hands once more. "Ok who wants to go first?"

"I will, since I'm obviously the smartest person here and come up with the best dares and truths," Brittany said smiling. "So I pick...Rachel," she pointed at the girl, who was now hiding her head in an oversized pillow. "Truth or dare?"

Rachel bit her lip in thought before answering. "Dare!" she blurted out.

"I dare you to make a toilet paper turban and wear it until your next dare."

"Um...ok..," Rachel said slowly standing up and walking to the bathroom.

"That was surprising, Brittany," Quinn said. "I thought you would do something much more cruel."

"Unicorns are not mean. We don't tolerate bullying. So I did something funny and innocent. Plus Rachel has man hands and it's kind of creepy," Brittany explained.

Just then, Rachel appeared from the restroom, wearing a drooping mop of toilet paper on her head. "I look like I belong in an asylum," Rachel said bluntly. The rest of the girls burst out in laughter. "It's not funny!" she protested, stomping her foot.

"It's pretty hilarious," Mercedes added between giggles.

"Whatever. It's my turn. Mercedes, since you enjoy making fun of my folly, I merely wish to repay the favor. Truth or dare?" Rachel asked, trying to look as dignified as possible in her makeshift hat.

"Dare," the dark skinned girl answer with a wolfish grin.

"I dare you to call up the local radio station, and sing a song to the dj really really horribly and pretending you want ot be a singer!"

"That's actually a good dare, Rachel," Brittany chimed in, handing the dared girl her cell phone. "You're not as hobbit like as I thought you were."

Mercedes dialed the number and the group had to wait a good twenty minutes until her call was received. The rest of the group leaned in close as Mercedes listened and chatted with the other end. Suddenly, she started to sing.

"WHAT YOU WANT, BABY I GOT IT!" Mercedes wailed out in the worse voice she could muster up. "WHAT YOU NEED, DO YOU KNOW I GOT IT?" the other girls were cracking up; Quinn bit her lips to stifle the giggles, Rachel once again stuffed her face in a pillow, and Brittany had to leave the room. Once she had finished, Mercedes spoke out, a little breathless. "So how did I do? Do you think I got what it takes?" she smiled into the phone and sent the girls a wink.

"Oh," she tried to sound dejected as the dj obviously let her down gently. "Well, thanks for listening!" She hung up the phone. Once all the girls had once again calmed down, Mercedes dished out her turn. "Quinn, truth or dare? You are the last one of our party," Mercedes said, smiling at Quinn.

"Since you have all picked dare, and I refuse to go with the mainstream, I choose truth."

"What is going on with you and Blaine? We all are DYING to know," Mercedes said, the rest of the girls crowded around the blonde.

"There's nothing going on," Quinn tried to sound nonchalant. "He's just a friend."

"Girl, please! 'Friends' don't look at each other with love struck looks and sleep in the same bed. He even let you see his hair un-gelled! He doesn't even let me see that, and I'm his sister!" Rachel argued. "Now give us all the juicy details!"

Quinn sighed. "Fine. But what happens here, stays here. Understood?" the group all nodded vigorously. "Ok, I admit that I do like Blaine. More than a friend," Quinn admitted, blushing when all the girls squealed in excitement.

"Have you kissed him?" Brittany asked excitedly.

"Have you done _more _than kissing with him?" Mercedes added suggestively.

"Ewww! Don't answer that Quinn. In case you forgot, this is my BROTHER were talking about." Rachel said, pinning her fingers into her ears.

"We only kissed, nothing more," Quinn answered, reminiscing the short but firework worthy kiss. "It was pretty amazing." The girls squealed like middle school girls once again. "But obviously I can't get together with him," she added , much to their dismay.

"Why not? That white boy is obliviously in love with you. Everyone can tell," Mercedes argued.

Quinn blushed beat red at her comment. "Because, I'm so messed up. After everything that happened with Noah- hell, I don't even know if that's _over_- he won't want me. Noah; he won't stop. I know him. Blaine shouldn't have to deal with that. He deserves somebody so much better, a lot less broken." She didn't noticed she had started crying until Rachel handed her a tissue with a sympathetic smile.

The room fell silent as Quinn's new friends all enveloped her in a giant group hug. She cried even harder while holding tightly onto her friends. "I told you this game always ends badly," Quinn said, adding a shaky laugh to break the awkward tension that had formed.

"We're always hear for you, Quinn. No matter what it is: boy troubles, girl troubles, anything. We got your back," Mercedes said, Rachel and Brittany nodding in agreement.

Quinn gave everyone a smile. "Thank guys. Who needs men when I have you?"

X~X~X

"Guys, I've called this meeting for a very important reason."

Blaine had called his whole gang over an hour after his...misunderstanding with Quinn. Sam had told him that all the girls were over at his and 'Cedes' place, having a good lod fashioned slumber party. The ex-Warbler knew he needed Quinn to forgive him. He had though about what she had said before her departure. He knew that getting rid of Noah for good -physically and mentally- was going to be a challenge. But he would go through it all for her.

"I am in a very serious predicament and I need your help," The curly haired man continued, pacing the floor in front of his seated guests.

"What did you do this time?" Rory snickered.

"I need a way to win back Quinn's heart. We had a little..uh..argument...and I need to apologize. But in the coolest, most dapper way possible," Blaine responded.

"We could bake her a cake!" Finn suggested.

"Must you always think about food?' Sam added in. "What about giving her a bouquet of flowers and chocolate?"

Blaine shook his head. "No no, something bigger, more original."

The men sat in thoughtful silence for a few minutes until Artie jumped- well sat- up. "We could serenade her! I did it once to a girl in high school, she took me back instantly! You can't resist a guy and his melodic voice."

Blaine looked at him eagerly. "Yeah, yeah, that's actually a good idea!"

"What song would we sing? And I hate to be the devil's advocate here but we kinda don't have a lot to go from, beside Blaine's guitar," Rory chimed in.

"We could do Boyz in Motion!" exclaimed Finn. It was echoed by an unanimous chorus of "hell to the no!" 's.

"I sung Isn't She Lovely. It was a Capella with only a guitar," Artie suggested.

Blaine turned them all down. "No, no, thanks for the suggestions guy, but I want something more personal."

"What about that one song you've been working on?" Rory asked. "The one you wanted to show to the producer? It would be a great way to practice it."

"Yes!" exclaimed Blaine, jumping up to grab his ratted notebook and guitar. "Rory, you are the best. What would I do with out you?"

"Grammy speech!"

X~X~X

_La, la, la, la, you'll be popular! Just not quite as popular as me!_

The song ended and the girls fell on each other breathlessly but still full of giggles.

"I was born to play Elphaba. I swear, I will go to my grave singing Defying Gravity," Rachel spoke out.

The girls laughed again until the doorbell rang. They exchanged confused looks before Mercedes went to answer it. Once it wasn't opened a group of familiar men approached.

"We have a song-o-gram for a miss Quinn Fabray," Artie said formally.

Mercedes looked over with an arched eyebrow, waiting for Quinn's approval. She nodded shakily, her inside full of butterflies at seeing Blaine again. Even though it had only been a few hours, she had missed him. Even if he was an idiot. An adorable idiot.

"And now, presenting the famous Blaine Anderson, doing a very special, exclusive, one night only performance just for you," Sam said, him and Artie parting the way for Blaine to walk through, a cheeky smile aimed to a blushing Quinn and a guitar in hand.

"Hello, everyone," Blaine said into his unplugged microphone. All the girls were huddled together on the small couch, little squeals of excitements escaping their mouths. "It's really great to be here tonight. I wanna sing a song that I wrote, a personal favorite. It's called Not Alone. This is for you, Quinn," he smiled over at her, eyes twinkling.

**I've been alone**

**Surrounded by darkness**

**I've seen how heartless**

**The world can be**

**I've seen you crying**

**You felt like it's hopeless**

**I'll always do my best**

**To make you see**

**Baby, you're not alone**

**'Cause you're here with me**

**And nothing's ever gonna bring us down**

**'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you**

**And you know it's true**

**It don't matter what'll come to be**

**Our love is all we need to make it through...**

**Now I know it ain't easy**

**But it ain't hard trying**

**Everytime I see you smiling**

**And I feel you so close to me...**

**And you tell me:**

**Baby, you're not alone**

**'Cause you're here with me**

**And nothing's ever gonna bring us down**

**'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you**

**And you know it's true**

**It don't matter what'll come to be**

**Our love is all we need to make it through...**

**I still have trouble**

**I trip and stumble**

**Trying to make sense of things sometimes...**

**I look for reasons**

**But I don't need 'em**

**All I need is to look in your eyes**

**And I realize...**

**Baby, I'm not alone**

**'Cause you're here with me**

**And nothing's ever gonna take us down**

**'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you**

**And you know it's true**

**It don't matter what'll come to be**

**Our love is all we need to make it through...**

**Oh, 'cause you're here with me**

**And nothing's ever gonna bring us down**

**Cause nothing, nothing, nothing**

**Can keep me from lovin' you**

**And you know it's true**

**It don't matter what'll come to be**

**You know our love is all we need**

**Our love is all we need**

**To make it through...**

Blaine finished the song, his face glistening with sweat and the post-performance glow. He looked at Quinn (he had been glancing over at her the whole song) and saw her eyes were full of unshed tears, her knees brought up to her chest. Once the girls got the memo the song had finished, they all stood up and clapped loudly, catcalls and whoops echoing through the tiny apartment. Quinn still sat, looking at Blaine with her spectacular eyes.

"Quinn, I know I've been kind of a douche lately, but I just want you to know that I will never leave you alone. Through out all this, or whatever this is, everything going on with Noah, I will always be there for you. Even though I'm a little oblivious at times, I promise to always take care of you. I like you a lot, Quinn, and I care about you deeply. If you will give me chance, can we try again?" Blaine said, a little breathless after his performance but looked at Quinn expectantly.

Quinn conuldn't help but let a few tears escape. Blaine looked so adorable, his big hazel eyes looking at her with the most adorable expression. A few hairs had escaped the dungeon of gel plastered on his head. Unable to speak, she nodded profusely. "Yes, yes," she spoke out, running over to enclosed him in a hug.

The guitar was nudged between them, but Blaine effortlessly took it off. He motioned for everyone else to get out as he wrapped his arms tighter around the blonde. "Did you like my song?" he asked, still smiling and burying his head in her shoulder.

"I loved it," Quinn murmured into his shirt. "And it looks like a few of your hairs escpaed your gel prison," she giggled, pulling back from the embrace just a little so she could play with one of hte springing curls.

Blaine laughed along with her, happiness radiating off of her. He still couldn't believe she had forgiven her. _I guess that's the reason Justin Bieber is so popular,_ he thought. They entered a comfortable silence, still wrapped up in each other's arms. "Can I kiss you now?" He whispered.

She answered by pressing her lips to his.

X~X~X

**'daw wasn't that just the fluffiest thing I've ever written. ;)**

**the song the girls sang was 'Popular' from Wicked, and Blaine's song was Not Alone by the one and only Darren Criss. **


	15. Provocative Girls and Tea Parties

Blaine breathed in deeply, wrapping his arms impossibly closer around the girl sleeping next to him. As his brain focused into conciseness, his smiled at the unconscious form snuggled into his neck. He kissed her head softly and shifted slowly to not wake Quinn so that he was spooning her. "Good morning," he murmured softly in her ear, kissing her clothed shoulder.

She stirred just a bit and groaned, shifting her head to smile sleepily at Blaine. "G' morning," she mumbled, stretching out like a cat, pulling her arm out from Blaine's chest and reaching them above her head, letting out a groan.

"How'd ya sleep?" Blaine asked, he himself no fully awake either. After Quinn had finished stretching, he wrapped his arms around her once more, needing her warmth once again.

"Wonderfully," she smiled her mega-watt smile up at him. He leaned in to kiss her, but she backed away. "Ew! Morning breath!" she exclaimed, trying to squeeze out of his tight grasp.

"I don't care," Blaine responded smiling, ad when she rejected him again began to e her sides softly. She let out small squeals and giggles as he continued to tickle her. Her infectious laugh was contagious and he found himself laughing as well. But the sound of the door being slammed open caused their fun to stop.6+

"Hey Blaine shouldn't you- AHHH!" Rory said, not glancing up from the newspaper he was reading until seeing the two on the bed. After his exclamation, he covered his face with the paper.

"Rory!" Blaine yelled, his voice dripping with annoyance. "What do you want?"

"Um, well this is awkward," Rory stammered. "I was just wondering why you weren't on your way to the producer's office right now. Your meeting starts in ten minutes.." He explained, his face still hidden from Blaine by the thick paper in his hand.

"Crap! Crap, crap, crap!" Blaine groaned, pushing himself out of bed and grabbing a fresh shirt and jeans and pulled them on lickidy-split.

"You're welcome," Rory said walking out of the room. "And hello there, Quinn," he added, finally addressing the girl occupying the bed. She nodded silently, her face red as a tomato. Even though the former cheerleader and Warbler weren't doing anything too inappropriate, she still felt embarrassed about getting caught.

"I'm so dead," Blaine groaned, sneaking a glance at the clock which read 9:52. His gaze continued to look just to the left of the time teller to the blonde girl sitting against the headboard. "Quinn, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about a huge meeting I have today. I-" he tried to explain as quickly as possible before Quinn crawled over the side of the bed and placed her index finger in front of his mouth.

"You can explain all of this later. But right now, you need to leave to your meeting," Quinn said, smiling and looking into his frantic honey hazel eyes.

"You're the best. Thank you so so so much!" Blaine rushed through his words, tripping around obstacles on the ground whilst trying to put on his shoes. "So can I get that kiss now? You know, for good luck," he added with a wink, stepping closer to the girl.

"I suppose," Quinn flirted back, but avoided his lips and aimed for his cheek, giggling after pulling away. Blaine groaned loudly while Quinn pushed him the door.

"Tease!" he yelled before running out of the front door, hearing the giggling reaction of Quinn through the thin walls.

X~X~X

"Not to be rude or anything, but who are they?"

Blaine asked, gesturing towards the smirking man and pretty Latina sitting a few feet away from him. He had barely made it to the meeting on time, and much to his dismay, his hair was ungelled. The girl gave him a flirtatious wave and wink, her tight dress showing off her cleavage and curves. The man had a Meer cat face, but still attractive nonetheless. He was obviously tall even from sitting and his hair was coiffed perfectly to match his just as tidy suit. Blaine knew he looked like a hobo compared to them in his collared shirt, bowtie, and jeans.

"Mr. Anderson, meet Mr. Smythe and Miss Lopez." Mr. Smith introduced.

"Call me Santana. That's the name you'll be scr-" The provocarive girl started to say but was cut off by her partner.

"Santana!" Meer cat face - Mr. Smythe - threatened with a scowl adressed to the libidinous woman. "And Mr. Smythe was my father. You can call me Sebastian," he smiled charismatically at the curly haired man.

"Um.. nice to meet you both," Blaine stuttered. "And with all due respects to you both, but my question still hasn't been answered."

"Mr. Anderson, Mr. Smythe is the other artist I'm considering. Throughout the next few weeks, you and Mr. Smythe will work separately on different demos for me, which you will perform, and end up as a EP. Whichever one I like better will be the act I choose for a full length album. Understood?" Mr. Smith explained to Blaine.

"Wait..I'm going to have to do this all by myself? I don't really have the materials for this.." Blaine protested. He definitely wasn't thrilled with this new arrangement- hell, he was pissed! Pleasing the producer was hard enough. Now he was going to have some competition?

"Just as Miss Lopez is for Mr. Smythe, I have hired a manager for you to make sure you shine your brightest at the deadline," Mr. Smith responded, pushing a button on hid desk and taking into the phone. "Please bring in Mr. Chang," he spoke to the inanimate object.

A few short but awkward moments later a tall, good looking Asian man rushed through the door, clad in an expensive suit. "I take it you're Mr. Anderson?" he addressed the confused musician.

"Uh.. yeah. And Blaine's fine," he answered, taking the man's hand and shaking slowly before pulling away quickly (he didn't want him to notice his sweaty palms).

"Blaine, Mr. Chang is your new manager. He is very well liked and a graduate from Harvard. I'm sure you too will get along quite well. Now get the hell out of my office, all of you." Mr. Roberts dismissed the group.

X~X~X

"And then he just like, kicked us out. It was the weirdest day ever," Blaine said to Quinn later that day. They had met up for coffee in that same little shop, and yet again he was telling the girl about his bizarre work experience. "But my manager- Mike Chang is his name- seems nice enough. And he didn't run screaming when he saw my ungelled hair," he added the latter for a humorous effect (or maybe it was just to see Quinn's mega-watt smile).

She did indeed smile. "Well that's the music business. Crazy stuff I suppose. You ready to head out? Not that I don't love talking to you, but this time I don't want to stay until closing."

Blaine agreed and the pair began to walk back to the man's apartment. Quinn had told him about her day, and she seemed genuinely happy. Blaine had thought that the whole Noah incident was finally gone, at least physically.

Boy, could he have been more wrong.

Once reaching the crumbling complex, Blaine went to open the door with his keys, but came to realization that it was unlocked. "Rory must've forgot to lock the door," Blaine said to a skeptical Quinn. He clasped the door handle turning it and walking inside, but both of them stopped abruptly at the sight before them.

Dishes and CDs laid strewn around the front room, half broken. The TV screen had a nasty fight with a bat, and its opponent had clearly won, leaving behind a gigantic crack in the screen. The couches had been stabbed, so many slits running through them that it looked like a zebra. The cabinets in both the kitchen and bathroom were opened, half of what was filling them gone. The bedrooms were nothing better, much to Blaine's dismay. His drawers were ajar, clothes all of them floor. His beloved poster had been ripped in half, and the remnants of his pillows laid out of the bed like freshly fallen snow.

Blaine could only stare in horrified shock. The small condo was completely murdered, and the killer long gone. He walked back out into the main room to Quinn, who had fallen to a trembling mess on the ground, hands covering her mouth and piece of paper at her side. Blaine sat beside her, still silent, and picked up the note.

He dropped it as soon as he read what was inscribed.

**Give her back to me or this will seem like a tea party compared to what else I have planned. **

**-P**

X~X~X

**YAY FOR MIKE CHANG. **

**it will get better, I promise. **


	16. Stomach Lurches and Closure

**Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for my few but amazing followers on this story! **

**Disclaimer: why do I even bother**

X~X~X

Blaine held Quinn for what seemed like hours until his soft rubs on her back and soothing words whispered in her ears calmed her down enough to speak.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," she muffled through his shirt. "I'm so, so, so, sorry."

Blaine kissed the top of her head comfortingly. "It's ok. I meant what I said before. I won't leave you," he whispered to her scalp.

She shook her head and looked up at him, her eyes full of unshed tears. "You don't need this. I'm just a burden."

Blaine furrowed his eyebrows. "No, no! You would do the same for me. We'll sort this out," he protested. "We can get the police involved and-"

"No!" Quinn cut him off, standing up and crossing her arms defensively. "No police. Then things will get messy and Noah doesn't deserve to go to jail." As much as Blaine disagreed with her statement, he nodded his head in compliance. "Noah, just...he's very dominant and demanding. And extremely persistent. He doesn't give up easily and will do anything that belongs to him back in his arms. And to him, I'm a part of him. We've known each other too long for me to completely vanish from his life." She tried explaining, but Blaine wouldn't listen. He had zero sympathy for the Mo hawked man, and wanted him to suffer.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Blaine asked, obviously frustrated. He thought it was over and done with after that horrendous day at Quinn's apartment.

"I don't know," Quinn sobbed dejectedly. "I really should just leave. I'm just making everything more complicated and you are already stressed about your job an-" Quinn opened in eyes in shock as Blaine cut her off, pressing his rough, warm lips to hers. She relaxed into the kiss, sighing audibly and closing her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him yet again. She played with the loose hairs around the nape of his neck, knowing she would never get tired of the springy, soft, feel.

His lungs screaming for some sort of air, Blaine pulled back reluctantly. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm never letting you go?" he said, smiling softly at her. The blonde blushed and ducked her head. "We'll figure this out together. But I'm extremely exhausted and would like to sleep. Care to join me?"

X~X~X

That night, they both sat awake but not to each other's knowledge.

Blaine lied on his back, looking up at the plain ceiling. He really did care about Quinn, but he wasn't a violent guy. He was afraid of thing getting a little too dangerous for his liking. But that thought quickly vanished from his brain, thinking about how much it would be if Quinn had to face this on her own. If it wasn't for him, she would still be with Noah. He had no idea what Noah could do, he barely even knew his last name! He could have a weapon, he could take them hostage...Blaine's mind went wild with the horrendous possibilities.

Quinn laid, curled up to one side, her back to Blaine. He eyes drifted slowly around the dark room, finally landing on Blaine's battered up old notebook. He had his whole life and career ahead of him, and now because of her he had to put it all on hold. Quinn knew the curly haired man cared for her, but how far was Blaine willing to for her? She knew Noah wouldn't cause her serious damage, but the book was wide open for Blaine. He had stood up to the resident badass, something no one had ever attempted. She was so worried for his safety. Blaine could get into serious trouble, and now that he was involved, she knew that he wouldn't get away with less than a scratch.

After sitting awake for what seemed like hours, Quinn looked over at the sleeping form of Blaine and double checked that he was asleep. She quietly and slowly sat up and jumped off the bed, careful to make sure no extra creaks were heard. Ripping a piece of paper from Blaine's bundle of songs, she wrote everything she was feeling through the black ink. After an hour of writing and fighting with herself, the former cheerleader grabbed her small bag of clothes Rachel had lent her and slipped on her coat and shoes. Giving the sleeping man one more painful glance, she folded the note and laid it in his precious notebook lying on the beside table. _It's for the best. You're doing him a favor, _she tried convincing herself. She looked back at Blaine one more time, before closing the door behind her and walking out into the dark New York streets.

X~X~X

Sunlight snuck through Blaine's blinds, signaling it was morning. Blaine groaned, throwing his arm on the other side of the bed and hitting cold sheets. He pried one eye open to see that he was indeed alone in his bed. Oblivious to the serious problem he would be facing soon, he walked into the kitchen, itching his bedhead and sitting down next to Rory and Rachel while Brittany made coffee.

"S'where Quinn?" Blaine grunted, wiping a few eye boogers from his orbs.

"Isn't she in your room?" Rachel asked, chewing obnoxiously on her toast.

"We haven't seen her all morning," Rory added.

Blaine's stomach lurched at his friends' remarks. If she wasn't in his room, and not anywhere else in the small apartment, that could only mean one thing... "Noah took her," Blaine said, shaking with a mixture of pure hatred, anger, and fear. His terrifying note hadn't been jut a threat, it had been a warning, almost foreshadowing the event taking place at that moment. "He left us a note last night and-and that's why the place was so trashed and I-I- though it was just a harmless threat but he-he was serious and he must've taken her!" Blaine yelled, his anger growing into burning steam. He kicked over one of the bar stools in his mad haze and slipped on his shoes.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rachel asked while Blaine shrugged on his coat, his pajamas still visible and hair a unruly mess of curls.

"I'm going to find her, that's what I'm doing!" Blaine exclaimed, walking out the door.

"Wait!" Brittany yelled out to him, running into the street where Blaine was quickly walking. "I found this by your bed when I went to look for Quinn. You never checked under the bed by the way. It would be a good place. She wasn't there though," Brittany exclaimed, but Blaine kept walking.

"HEY!" Brittany yelled, causing Blaine and some locals to stop in surprise. "I'm talking to you Blaine Warbler and if you don't listen I will severely hurt you, all my unicorn creeds and rules set aside!"

Blaine stopped, sighed, and walked back toward the blonde. "Let me see," he took the crumpled piece of paper from the unicorn's hand. He opened it gingerly, and his eyes scanned the ink stained note.

_Blaine,_

_I'm sure by now you've noticed my absence. I'm sure you're already out the door on your way to find me, and before I start explaining I want you to calm down (don't act like I don't know you're angry. We've spend to much time together for me to ignore that little factor)._

If Blaine's mood wasn't so low he would've laughed at that last comment. Even though he knew she couldn't see him, Blaine sighed and counted to ten in his head, taking deep breaths to calm his anger before continuing.

_Thank you. I have a lot of things to tell you. First of all, I am so proud to have known you. You are so so _so_ talented, and with that charismatic smile and gorgeous but tame-less hair, (did I mention your swoon-worthy voice?) I know your going to make it big. And I'll be your number one fan the whole time. I'll buy every album and even make sure to get one of those cardboard cut outs of you to creep on me while I sleep. ;) _

Blaine laughed a little, totally oblivious to him being in the middle of the sidewalk and New Yorker jostling him and spitting out curses at him.

_I was too scared to tell you in person, because I'm such a coward, but there is something you need to know. I'm leaving. For good. I can't keep letting you put your life on hold for me and my pitiful excuses. You deserve to live a successful, long, and happy life. After you win your first Grammy, you'll settle down with a gorgeous girl and get married. You'll have a few children, just as beautiful and cheeky as you and in 5 years, you will completely forget about that girl you met when you first moved to the Big Apple. You have such a fantastic life ahead of you, and I can't wait to see your name in lights. _

Blaine smiled and wiped an unshed tear from his cheek, his hand brushing past some morning stubble.

_But in order for that to happen, I need to let you go. Set you free. You deserve so much and I was just holding you back with my myriad of problems. I need to learn to start solving my own issues instead of relying on other people. I'm twenty years old for crying out loud! And besides, you and I both know, deep down, we never would have worked anyway. So I've decided to leave, to disappear from your life completely. I know at first you will look for me, but you're just wasting your breath. You need to get a head start on the great future ahead of you. And before you even ask, I'm not telling you where I am going. It'll e so much better this way in the long run. _

_Another request: please don't hurt Noah. I once loved him, and I know you won't or ever will understand why I'm protecting this, but because I love you, I hope that will be enough for you to listen. _

_Yes, I love you. I bet you thought you would be the first to say that, huh? But since I'm ever seeing you again, I might as well give you some sort of closure. You deserve that much. I love you. I didn't know it then, I've loved you ever since I saw you're coffee stained shirt and mane of curls in Pennsylvania. I took a while for my mind to catch up, but I realized I loved you that day you came home from beating the crap out of Noah. No one had ever done something that chivalrous and just.. so _loving. _That's the moment I knew you loved me too. (It wasn't that hard to figure out, you wear your heart on your sleeve, you know that?) _

Blaine was in full out tears now. He smiled so brightly he thought his face might crack. Quinn loved him .Quinn loved him. Nothing ever seemed so sweet to Blaine's cold ears.

_You're stirring now, and it's only a matter of time before you wake up. Goodbye, Blaine. I wish you all the love and luck in the world, and I'm so lucky and proud to have been loved by such an amazing man. _

_Yours always,_

_ Quinn_

The pajama clad man walked back into the apartment, going to his room and shutting the door. He didn't want to talk to anyone, he didn't want to see anyone. Unless it was Quinn. He laid on his bed and let the tears freely flow. The realization of what just occurred hit him like a ton of bricks, only making him cry harder.

Quinn was gone, and she was never coming back.

X~X~X

**Don't worry, young children. I have everything all planned out! Stay patient! :)**

**...Review maybe? ;)**


	17. Flashbacks and Pep Talks

**Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but I know exactly what I want to do sooo next update should be within a week! :)**

**disclaimer: glee isn't mine, yada yada**

Quinn knocked softly on the door, wiping her tears from her face. She inhaled audibly and straightened the hem of her thin jacket. The door opened to a surprised Noah Puckerman. He quickly regained his bad ass persona.

"Well, well, Blaine finally decided to let your disgusting butt go. I must say, I'm a little disappointed though. I was hoping for a bigger spectacle," Puck slurred, leaning against the doorframe for support.

"Shut up Puck you're drunk," Quinn pushed her way inside, knowing all too well that Noah was too drunk to notice her calling him by his high school nickname and far too tipsy to hit her. She dropped off her bag and took to fixing Noah up again. "We'll talk about this later when you're sober."

"Ok sweetheart," Noah plopped down onto the futon. "But lemme take a n..n...nap. We can talk bout this..this..later," Noah struggled forming words until passing out.

Quinn sighed and rested her elbows on the counter, looking at the drunken man a few feet away. She shook her head. At times like this, when Noah was somewhat peaceful and innocent. He looked like the same small sophomore boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago...

_"Hey Quinn! Wait up!" Puck yelled up behind the cheerleader. Head held high, the pretty blonde continued walking, talking to her fellow Cheerio._

_"Get lost, freshie. I gotta talk to your friend here," he threatened the smaller brunette once he caught up to the two. Quinn sighed after the girl had run off. "First of all, she's a sophomore. Secondly, what do you want Noah?" she looked at him with a scowl and crossed her arms. _

_"First of all, it's Puck. We don't need Jacob Ben Israel to hear my real name, or my bad-ass rep will be ruined," the boy mocked her. "And secondly, I was wondering if you wanted to go tonight. Y'know, since you're dating my best friend, it could be good bonding," he tried explaining. _

_"The only reason you want me to come over is so you can get in my pants Puckerman. My answer is a definite no," Quinn turned on her heels and walked away, disgusted with the boy's behavior. _

_"Quinn wait!" Puck ran up to her and stopped her running a hand along her arm until it interlocked with her hand. "What happened to us? We used to be best friends!" _

_"That was before I became super popular and you become a class-A jerk," Quinn retorted, her high ponytail swishing. _

_"I really just want us to be friends again," Puck smiled his charismatic grin. "And who said I wasn't popular? The whole knows knows who I am."_

_"Yeah, the asshole who takes a girl's virginity then leaves her crying only an hour after. The guy who shoves kids into dumpsters because they dress with some actual style," Quinn rolled her eyes. _

_"Sam old sarcastic Quinn," Puck shook his head smugly. "C'mon, let's just hang out, play a few video games..it'll be fun."_

_"Yo're not gonna give up on this are you?" Quinn rolled her eyes and sighed again after she said Puck's eager shake of the head. "Fine. But only for a few hours."_

X~X~X

Running his hands through his hair, Blaine sighed audibly, the weight of his guitar slowly making his right shoulder sore. Also he was beginning to think he was claustrophobic. Or maybe it was because he had been in the recording room for about 4 hours now. "Please, can't we just call it a night? I'm exhausted and haven't had the best week," he begged Mike, who was sitting on the other side of the glass, concentrated on some knobs placed on the sound board.

"Blaine, you and I both know we can't do that. Meer cat and the Latina hoe probably have their whole EP done by now and are out for cocktails. We don't have any time to waste here," Mike protested, obviously as tired as the bow tie clad man. "Now c'mon, we need to at least get one more song down before we can go home. And trust me, I want to be here as much as you do."

Blaine groaned loudly rolling his head back. "Uhh! Why are you always right?"

X~X~X

Blaine trudged home that night at 2 A.M. The brisk night air made his puffs of breath visible and he wrapped his arms closer around himself. It had been a week since Quinn's disappearance, and all his brain could think of was her. Was she ok? Did she finally escape Noah? Where was she? He cursed himself for not going after her the first day she left, but she had insisted that he not look for her. Priding his dapper character, he did what she asked, as painful as it was.

Jiggling the creaky door open, Blaine walked into the quiet apartment and plopped down on the couch, rolling his head back and running a hand through his hair. By the stillness and darkness of his home, he concluded Rory was asleep, Rachel was probably with Finn (when would that girl leave the city anyway?), and Brittany was...well, one could never know.

So Blaine had a very plausible reason to why he jumped up and squealed like a little girl when he saw a silhouette coming towards him from the kitchen. He exhaled loudly and placed a hand on his chest once recognizing the dark person.

"Brittany! You scared the hell out of me!" Blaine yelled-whispered. "What are you doing awake?"

"Well I wasn't comfortable on the bed so I decided to try different places around the apartment. Tonight I tried under the sink, but I'm not having any good luck with that.." Brittany trailed off. Blaine's eyes were adjusting to the darkness and now could see the blonde, who was standing above him.

"Ok...do you want to sleep in my bed? I wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch if you-" Blaine started to say but was cut off by the girl.

"Blaine Warbler shut up."

Blaine closed him mouth in surprise at Brittany's forceful words.

"See? You always do things for other people. Like I just told you to shut up and you listened with even questioning me. And you just offered your bed to me, which is nice, but I suspect that you have real bed bugs in there that eat your hair and I don't want that," Brittany started to say, siting down next to Blaine. As for the man, he had learned to look over Britt's strange comments. "And it's literally been painful for me to watch you be stepped on by literally everyone. And don't even try arguing with me Blaine Warbler because we both know it's true. And with everything that happened wit Quinn," Blaine's heart instinctively dropped at the mention of _her. _"I didn't know that you could be so stupid."

Blaine looked up at her again, eyebrows furrowed. "Wait what? Me, stupid? How so?"

"Um, you kinda just let her leave," Brittany answered as if it was obvious.

"Well I'm sorry but she _asked _me to leave her alone!" Blaine argued.

"Please, when girls say one thing they mean the absolute opposite. Have you ever watched a chick flick?" Brittany responded. "And this past week with her you've been nothing but poop to hang out with. So I, your personal unicorn guardian, order you to go out and get Quinn Fabray back!"

"What?" Blaine questioned. "No, no. She asked me to not go looking for her so I'm respecting that. In case you haven't noticed, but this is really hard for me, too. Do you know how many times I've considered going out and looking for her? More than you know," he said dejectedly, resting his head in his hands.

"Then do it," Brittany whispered, sitting down next to the depressed man. "I'm kind of physic to I know that thi is killing you inside. So tomorrow morning, I propose we go on a search for her!"

"Brittany, I can't do that," Blaine protested. "What if she doesn't take me back? Or want me back for that matter."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "How oblivious are you? Pretty much the whole world can tell you two are crazy in love. So, go do something about it before I banish you," she threatened, making the curly haired man laughed for the first time sin a week.

"Let's do it."

X~X~X

**ahh im so excited for next chapter...:D**

**...you know what would be a great early Christmas present? reviews...;)**


	18. Insomnia and Grocery Store Greetings

**omg I totally suck. **

**I'm like a million years late and I'm so so sorry! December is super busy for me and I thank you so much for your patience! y'all are the best! mwah! :* **

**Disclaimer: ...**

X~X~X

Blaine couldn't sleep.

He had tried everything; making a glass of warm milk, listened to music, and even counted sheep, but nothing worked. So like most people who have trouble sleeping, Blaine started thinking (A horrible decision, really).

When he did find Quinn- _if he found Quinn-, _what would happen to them? Would Quinn want to take him back? She had said she loved him, but what if she just wrote that note to ensure a convenient way out of the relationship? What about Noah? Blaine and Quinn both knew what he was capable of. And if she didn't go back to him, he would probably find her eventually, and then what? Quinn wouldn't have any people to protect her.

Blaine groaned at cursed himself for thinking so much. Needing some fresh air, he went outside, throwing on his slippers and a coat. The cold air hit his face felt like being bitch slapped by an iceberg, but it somehow soothed his senses.

He didn't know how far he had been walking, lost in his own thoughts and problems, until he didn't recognize his surroundings at all. He slowly started panicking and turned around to search for any sign of familiarity, but it left him dizzy and nowhere closer to home. _Do not panic, _he thought to himself, _you are a 20 year old man. Just call Rory._

And that's exactly what he did. However, Rory wasn't the type of person to have his phone on all the time. He also wasn't the type of person to wake up at 4 in the morning.

Blaine sighed and sat down on the curb, watching the cars rush past the dirty street. What was he going to do? It was true that the sun would be up in 2 hours, but he was still a little scared. What If he got mugged? Or...shot?

_Stop being an idiot, _Blaine disciplined himself, _You are a grown man. There's nothing to be afraid of._ _Pull it together. _

All of sudden, Blaine heard rustling behind him. He turned around to see a silhouette coming towards him. _Great, _he though, _this is how I'm going out. By a random guy on the street. _However, Blaine's thought were incorrect.

"Brittany! What are you doing here?!" Blaine exclaimed, jumping at surprise when he could make out the dark figure.

"Well I was trying to fall back asleep but then I heard you get up and leave so I decided to follow you. And where are we going? Because I'm not one to judge a book by its' cover, but this place doesn't look too unicorn-friendly." Brittany said, sitting down on the curb next to Blaine.

"I don't know, Britt. I just decided to walk around to clear my head, but I got distracted and didn't know how far I'd gone. Do you know how to get back?" he asked the blonde, who's hair was pulled into pigtails and was wearing cotton pajamas.

"Yes I do. But what were you thinking about?" Brittany said, not making a move to get up.

"You do? Oh thank Grilled Cheesus! C'mon let's go," Blaine got up, but look down on the still girl. "What are you waiting for?"

"Oh no, Blaine Warbler, you're not getting off this easy. Now tell me what you were thinking about."

"I'll tell you on the way. Now let's go! It's kind of cold and I'm not really in the mood to get mugged," Blaine was getting impatient.

"Nope. We'll go after you tell me what you were thinking about," Brittany patted the curb next to her.

Blaine sighed defeated, and sat down. "It's Quinn. As usual. I just feel like this is always a maze with her, like every time I think I'm getting closer to figuring her out, she just keeps on sending me to dead ends. And now, with everything at work. And her leaving...I just don't know if I want to do this anymore," Blaine sighed, placing his face in his hands.

"But that doesn't matter because you love each other," Brittany stated simply.

"What?" Blaine asked, looking up at the girl in surprise.

"Um, Blaine, it's pretty obvious."

"Well I don't know what to do! Looking for her won't do us any good, in case you forgot that New York contains over a million people," Blaine said.

"Don't you get it?" Brittany raised her voice and stood up. "She wants you to fight for her you idiot! Girls love that kind of stuff, didn't you learn all that at your fancy smancy school?"

"Actually it was an all boys school so no," Blaine muttered.

Unfazed, Brittany continued in her rant. "If you do some gigantic chivalrous act she'll sure to take you back for sure. Girls love all that kind of romantic cheesy stuff. Trust me, I would know." Brittany shrugged her shoulders.

"Because you're a girl?" Blaine looked up at the girl.

"Yes. Also I was prom king candidate my senior year and it really inspired to me to learn more about he way girls think."

"Ok, so what do you suggest we do? Besides creating a whole search party," Blaine asked, standing up as well.

X~X~X

Quinn stared out the window of her shared apartment, gazing at all the oblivious people walking briskly two stories below her. She envied their freedom and their lives. She wanted to be like that little girl skipping down the street happily with her mother tirelessly chasing behind her. Or that teenage girl walking hand in hand with her first boyfriend, her smile bright enough to light her apartment for a week. Or that young man playing his guitar on the street corner, hoping to earn enough to pay for some of college loans.

She was disturbed from her daydream to hear her front door close loudly. She quickly got up and ran to the front room, plastering on a smile and leaning up to give her roommate a kiss.

"How was work?" She asked sweetly, and like a obedient '50's household wife, took his coat and bag from him and placed it on the table.

"Same as usual," Noah grunted, sitting down on the couch and turning on the TV. "Is dinner almost ready?"

"Uh, about that," Quinn started, fingering her shirt sleeve. "We were out of lettuce for the salads, and I didn't want to go out and get some without your permission or if I went and wasn't home when you came home and-"

"Stop making excuses and go get some!" Noah yelled, fortunately for Quinn not moving from her place on the sofa. Quinn quickly grabbed her coat and ran out the door, sighing in relief at how that turned out.

X~X~X

Mercedes Jones never considered herself a snoop. At least not until now.

She knew only half of the things that went on wit Blaine and Quinn, but knowing that she hadn't seen either of them in quite a while (besides Blaine at work, but it was very hard to catch up while waiting tables) she was extremely surprised seeing the blonde beauty. Especially at a _grocery store. _

She was busy picking out some of Sam's favorite oatmeal when she saw Quinn out of the corner of her eye perusing the produce section. The diva made her way sneakily over to her.

"Quinn?" Mercedes pretended to act surprised to see the former cheerleader.

Quinn jumped when hearing her name and looked over, her face changing from a frown to a smile. "Mercedes!" she gave her a hug and held her tightly. "It's so good to see you."

"You too," Mercedes responded breaking away from the tight embrace. "How are you? I haven't seen you around lately."

Quinn took a deep sigh before continuing. "I left. Blaine, I mean."

"WHAT?!" Mercedes exclaimed, oblivious to the staring onlookers. "What in hell would possess you to do that?"

"I had to let him go," Quinn said quietly. "Don't you remember what I said at the sleepover? He's far too good for me and he needs to focus on his career."

Mercedes was _this close _to slapping that girl. "Girl, that is the perfect time to take them and MAKE THEM YOURS! You're a smart girl; you know he's totally in love with you!"

"I know that! You don't think that was hard for me?" Quinn was starting to get angry, and she didn't want to make a scene, especially in a grocery store. She lowered her voice, choking back tears. "But you wouldn't understand. Your life has been perfect! You go to a great school, have a fabulous fiance and a steady income! I have none of that. And now that I'm back with Noah, I have nothing."

"Then why did you go back to him?" Mercedes demanded.

"Because he's the only thing in my sorry life that has never left me!" Quinn's voice was once again raised and much to her embarrassment as two old ladies gave her suspecting glares. "Through everything that had happened, even back in San Diego, he still stayed. I'm the one who left him. But no matter how far I go, he'll always be there.

So what if he's horrid? What if..if.. he beats me? I don't care! At least it's something! I just..I couldn't keep living with Blaine, and all of you, when I realized how much I don't belong." Quinn's eyes brimmed with tears. It took everything in her to hold them back.

Mercedes said nothing; only wrapping her sad friend into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I'm being so ridiculous," Quinn laughed shakily and wiped her eyes. "Oh God, I can't believe I just told you that. Promise me you won't tell Blaine, please," she looked at the curvy girl with pleading eyes.

Mercedes had no idea what was going to happen, and now getting this information that she was back with Noah, she knew no matter how much Quinn would do to make sure this little encounter wouldn't get to Blaine's ears, she would have to betray a friend in order to the right thing.

"I promise."

X~X~X

**anyone catch my TWO references? hint: something about Chris Colfer and Flynn Ryder...**

**review? :)**


	19. Interruptions and Damsels in Distress

**happy new year my fabulous followers! :)**

**here's another chappy for ya! **

**guess what? this story is almost over...**

**enjoy(:**

X~X~X

It's this jealousy

Oh, and I just can't believe

In this jealousy

This jealousy for you

Oh, this jealousy

This jealousy for you...

Blaine finished the song with a hard strum on his guitar, breathing heavily. After catching his breath, he looked up to see Mike behind the glass giving him a strange look.

"How on earth did you manage to write that song?" Mike said through the microphone, shaking his head in disbelief. "I mean, it's good, but it's...weird. Quirky, almost."

"Personal experience," Blaine answered, not wanting to reminisce on the night he wrote that song, because of Quinn and Puck. Bad memories. "Haven't you ever been in love with a girl and she was in love with someone else?" Blaine said, laughing to lighten the mood.

"Hasn't everyone?" Mike snickered in response. "Ok, so let's do the bridge again and then I think we'll be done for the day."

"Wait-what?" Blaine asked in surprise. "Is Mr. Chang actually telling me that I can leave at a reasonable time tonight? Who are you and what have you done with my manager?"

"Ha, ha," Mike's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You've been having a rough week. I think I'll let you out early today. Considering we only have one more song to record for the EP, I think we should go celebrate. C'mon, I'll buy you a drink," Mike gestured to the door. Blaine grinned in the recording room and begin putting his music and guitar away.

"BLAINE!"

Blaine turned around and jumped at the ill piercing scream. "Mercedes! What are you doing here? Is everything all right? "he asked, oncern filling his amber eyes at the sight of his disheveled friend.

"It's Quinn," Mercedes said breathlessly. "I saw her."

"Saw her where?!" Blaine asked, energy bubbling inside him.

"At the grocey store. She told me where she's staying!"

"Where is she at Mercedes?" BLaine demanded as nicely as possible. He was getting impatient.

Her answer made Blaine's face go from white in worry to red with anger.

"Noah's."

X~X~X

The yellow taxi seemed to zoom passed other cars in the busy traffic, the driver obviously somewhat frightened by Blaine's demanding voice echoing in his mind. Blaine's mind, on the other hand, had no other coherent thoughts but the address of his destination and what exactly he was going to do when he arrived. Mercedes was caught between trying to be the side door of the cab and calming down her red-faced friend. She was a little worried what was going to happen, and dreaded the few minutes to come.

"Blaine. Blaine!" Mercedes exclaimed loud enough so Blaine would turn towards her. "You need to understand that _she _went back to _him. _Not the other way around, ok?" she asked him worriedly. She knew Blaine's uncontrollable anger and wanted to cool things a bit before the climax began. "She told me she's doing fine now. everything's all good now!" she tried telling a little white lie.

"No it's not." was her only response.

X~X~X

"Noah please!" Quinn pleaded, wincing as another blow hit her stomach. "I'm sorry, please just let me explain!"

"I told you to be home by 9:30," Noah growled picking up the girl and slapping her tear stained face. "You came home at 10:00. Where you out with that Blaine kid again?!"

"No, no, I swear!" Quinn screamed as she was pushed into the hard wall. "Please, Noah, you're drunk. Let's just go to bed and everything will be ok in the morning," she tried coaxing the raged man.

"Not this time, you little whore. Why can't you just stay with me and obey me like a good little girl? Huh?" Nah kicked her hard when she didn't respond.

"I'm sorry," Quinn mumbled through her sobs of pain. "I won't do it again."

"That's what you said LAST TIME!" Noah slapped her again.

"Someone, please! HELP ME!" Quinn was exasperated. This was the worst blow she'd received to date, and she knew the walls weren't that thick; someone should hear her.

"No one can help you no-" Quinn opened her eyes when Noah never finished his statement, nor any more blows came to her body. To her amazement, Blaine was there, beating the living crap out of the abuser.

"Blaine!" she screeched, her voice leaving her after all her fighting.

Blaine paid no attention to his surroundings, only focused on aiming hi fist at Noah's face. Noah however, recovered quickly and pummeled Blaine at the wall, both grunting at the hard contact. Blaine pushed back, causing the two to fall to the hard wood, only feet away from the blonde.

"BLAINE!" That was the only thing Quinn could coherently say watching her ex boyfriend fight with her...whatever. Crawled in the corner, she finally regained some of her senses and tried breaking up the stubborn men. "Stop!" Quinn jumped when she felt soft hands pulling her back.

"It's ok, I called the police," Mercedes soothed her, pulling hr into a hug while the blonde cried.

Noah pushed her back without looking, and the men went back to battling for dominance. Suddenly, Blaine held Noah to the ground while the defeated man whimpered beneath him. Everyone looked up once they heard the police running up the stair outside.

"I swear, you ever, and I mean _ever,_ come towards me, my friends, or Quinn again, this will seem like, what did you say? Oh of course, a _freaking tea party," _Blaine emphasized his words by pressing his elbow further down on Noah's chest. "You don't hit women. It's wrong, and disrespectful. I can't ever look at you, I'm so disgusted. You are a disgusting creature. Go rot in hell." Blaine whispered-growled quickly, right before the police shoved down the door.

X~X~X

Blaine and Quinn were sitting on the fender of the ambulance, wrapped in blankets and bandages covering their exposed skin. Sitting silent for almost ten minutes, just watching he chaos around them, Blaine split the silence.

"Why did you do it?"

"You and I both knew it was for the best," Quinn replied.

"Really?" Blaine asked, turning to face her. "You think that _this," _he gestured towards the scene before them. "is for the best?"

"You didn't have to come after me," Quinn whispered, feeling ashamed.

"You're not living with that for the rest of your life," Blaine said. "I couldn't just stand by and let that happen."

Stitching up the silence, the two went back to awkwardly staring at anything but each other. The police interrogating onlookers, Noah being pushed into a cop car, face bloodied and bruised.

"Thank you," Quinn's voice was so soft Blaine could barely hear it over all the commotion around them. "That was really brave of you. I really appreciate it."

Blaine stared at her. Hair a disheveled mess, green eyes watering reflecting red and blue lights, face red and lip quivering. "Anything for you."

X~X~X

**sorry so short. review maybe?**


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